Violet Rose: An Old Huntsmen Tale
by mediaocrity4
Summary: Years before RWBY, years before the White Fang or Cinder or the Grimm War, there was Violet Rose. She was burdened with a great legacy. She would be called untouchable. And in a city's most desperate hour, she would be their last hope. Prequel to RWBYond, Sequel to the Old Huntsmen. OCXOC. Ozpin as the only canon character. Mountain Glenn era.
1. Chapter 1

Violet Rose

 **AN: New Story! This one is going to be a bit different. It's in first person the whole time. You'll see younger versions of some key characters. It's an in-between-quel for STRQ: Tales of the Old Huntsmen. This should be fun.**

Chapter 1: Scattered Legend

I was five years old when my life truly began. It was a humid summer day in my home on Patch. I don't know what I was doing. I must have been playing with my doll or something. I didn't know what was going on. My father was talking to some man with white hair about something. Then my dad got really mad and threw him out of the house. I know all about this now but, for the sake of storytelling, I'll talk chronologically.

My dad told me once, that my mom named me Violet after her favorite flower. All flowers have meaning and a violet has something to do with love and modesty. I guess she named me well. A violet rose means enchantment, or some kind of affection. Though, the only thing I was enchanted with back then was the concept of aura.

I had heard so many stories about my parents. They were heroes, heroes of the greatest generation Remnant had ever seen. You see, I was a child born in the aftermath of the Great War. Although, I was born several years later. My parents apparently wanted to wait until they were all settled from the rebuilding period before they had a kid.

I was there one and only daughter and they were my only parents. Or, I guess…on that day, it was just parent. To this day I don't know how she died. She was supposed to be invincible. She was a legend, someone who was touted as one of the most powerful people on Remnant. How could she die?

I didn't really know how to comprehend what was going on. I guess I still don't. It must have been hard on my dad. They had been friends since they were very young. I can't imagine what…I hope I never have to know what that flavor of pain tastes like.

So, there I was, standing in the cemetery. I was probably crying my eyes out. At least, in hindsight, I hope I was. Even though I know I probably wasn't. I was the kind of kid that just held everything in. It's probably why I felt miserable for so long. But more on that later.

I wasn't surprised at who showed up. Everyone on Patch came to the funeral. There were a lot of old soldiers and huntsmen that fought alongside her. I recognized some of them from visits. The white-haired man was there again. He kept eyeing me. Maybe it was because I looked so much like her, save for my dad's eyes. In fact, my dad and I were the only ones I knew who had silver eyes. I know why now, but back then…had I known I probably would have found it easier to believe. Kids are so much more imaginative than adults can ever be.

"Violet…" My dad clutched my hand. "Whatever you do, I will support you. But please, don't become a pawn." I didn't know what he meant by that. But his eyes were locked onto the white-haired man the whole time. Said man walked over to introduce himself.

"Raymond." He said.

"Ozpin." Dad answered.

"I'm…so sorry."

"I know you feel that way…but it doesn't change a thing." Dad retorted.

"And you must be Violet." Ozpin knelt towards me. He had such a kind face, but I didn't care. I was such a shy kid, still am to this day. So, I hid behind my dad's leg. "My name is Professor Ozpin. I'm the Headmaster of Beacon and therefore am in charge of all huntsmen affairs through Vale."

"Violet…manners." My dad said.

"It's a pleasure to meet you." I mumbled into his pant leg. Ozpin extended his hand and I quickly shook it before darting my hand back to my side. Then a blonde man stepped up.

"I can't imagine what you're going through." He said.

"Arthur…" Dad said. "You've lost plenty…more than you should ever have to."

"So have you." Arthur said as he put a hand on my dad's shoulder. "I know what happened…in the barn house just north of here." My dad's grip on my hand tightened ever so slightly.

"Then you know I'll keep moving past this." Raymond said. "Unlike that time…I have someone to take care of."

"Indeed." Arthur knelt as Ozpin walked away. "You make me feel old. You're barely older than my grandson." He pulled out his sword. "Your mother and father forged this sword for me. I owe my life to it every time I fight the monsters of Grimm. Weapons are an extension of ourselves. So in a way, your mother lives on in her axe." Arthur stood. Another figure walked up behind him.

"My condolences." He said as he crossed his arms.

"Allister…didn't expect you to be here." Dad said. "What brings you to Patch?"

"Same as so many others." Allister said. His long midnight hair blew in the gentle breeze. "Acacia Glens was one of the four." Allister laid eyes on me. Father pushed me further behind him.

"I'm going to tell you the same thing I told Ozpin." Dad threatened. "Acacia and I didn't want that particular burden on our daughter. She trained herself to think about anyone but her should the time come."

"Are you sure?" Allister asked. His gaze focused on me. His violet eyes ran shivers down my spine. My throat nearly leaped out my mouth as I pushed my face into my dad's leg.

"I've been looking for the signs." Dad said.

"Indeed." Allister said. "Well, young Violet, I look forward to seeing your progress." He walked away.

"Why so jumpy Raymond?" Mr. Branwen walked up.

"The funeral isn't even over yet all of these vultures are coming after my daughter." Dad put a hand on my head."

"I understand how you feel." Aunt Gardenia said.

"Well, Violet would be next in line to receive that power." Mr. Branwen said.

"Just…" Aunt Gardenia started getting mad. "Leave the poor kid alone. She just lost her mother! For Christ sake, she's five. Power or not, she's no one's business but Raymond's." She got in Mr. Branwen's face and he backed off.

"Daddy…" I mumbled. "What's everyone talking about?"

"Nothing you need to worry about honey." My dad said. "Go and…" He stopped and squeezed my hand. "Put a flower on mommy's grave."

"Ok." I said weakly. I stepped out from my father's leg and walked forward. Bashfully, I walked over to get a flower from Aunt Gardenia. I walked over to the marker. There was a woman in yellow robes standing at it. I didn't know who she was. I had never seen her before. But when I saw the Grimm mask strapped to her hip, my heart jumped. I got so scared by such a harmless thing…. well…it isn't exactly harmless…is it?

"You must be Violet." She said. I hid behind a small bush. "There's no need to be afraid. Your mother is…." She squeezed her eyes shut. "Was…my best friend. We grew up together and studied together."

"But I never seen you before." I argued.

"Well, you have now." She turned to face me. "My name is Amber Thurston." She walked over to me and stopped half way. She dropped to one knee and extended her hand out. "You have very pretty eyes…you know that?" She said.

"Uh-huh." I slowly started to feel more comfortable around her, and came out from my shelter.

"I also have a son who's about your age."

"Where is he?" I asked looking around.

"He's back home…in Vacuo." She said with a sigh.

"Oh." I had no idea where that was. I walked closer to her regardless.

"Violet…I knew your mother better than anyone, save for your father. One thing I know for sure…is that whatever happens…whatever you go through…she loved you more than she ever loved anyone in her life."

"I…" I blushed and started kicking the dirt. I never did respond too well to compliments. I feel like there's nothing to do with them except blush. "I know." I said shakily as I poked Amber's hand. Of course, Mom loved me. That was just about the only thing I knew about her…aside from her being some war hero.

"You look a lot like her. Your hair is lighter and you've got your father's eyes but other than that…you look a lot like her." Amber said. "Well…I saw all those people talking to you." I set the flower on the gravestone and sat down in a ball.

"Daddy doesn't like it when people bother me." I said.

"Am I bothering you?" Amber sat next to me. I thought for a minute.

"No." I said.

"Well, your father has good reason to." Amber said. "You are an heir to greatness Violet Rose. The daughter of Spring and the last of the First Hunters."

"What do you mean?"

"Do you know the story of the Hunter and the Goddess of Spring?" I shook my head yes.

"I hunter, traveling out in the field spots a goddess. They fall in love and fight lots of monsters to save the world and create a safe place for everyone."

"That's the gist of it." Amber said. "Would you believe me if I said it was true?"

"It is!" My eyes got wide.

"In a sense. I believe the old legend is true. And that their descendants still reside in that paradise. I believe we are on that paradise and that, at the very least, your father is from that family. But even if it's not true…the story lived again through your parents. Your mother WAS a goddess of spring. And your father was the first huntsmen as we know the term today. That means, as their daughter, you have a lot to live up to."

"I do?" I said defeatedly.

"Whether you like it or not, there will be eyes on you for your entire life." Amber warned. "You and your father are the last of a once great clan. And your mother was indeed very powerful. That's the expectation people are going to have for you." She stood up. "Do try to live up to it."

"Are you leaving?" I asked.

"Yes…I must be going now. I too will be watching your progress. Your mother might have been the tender kindness of Spring…but I am the radiant power of Summer." With a wave of her hand, a black swirl appeared and she stepped through. I had never seen anything like it.

"Be weary." My father put a hand on my shoulder. "I trust her…but I don't trust those she associates with. So many people will try to harness whatever power you have. Our name alone, Rose, is enough to lure fowl beasts from their hiding places. I'll tell you about it when you are ready. But I want you to conceal it. If it is as I fear, than showing your limits, making one mistake, will set all the powers that be either against you, or for you. But those who claim to try to help you expand your horizons…people like Ozpin…they merely want to use you. Just like they used your mother."

"I don't understand…"

"You ill in time." Father said. "In the meantime…just try to be the best you can be."

"Alright." I took their words to heart. That was the first time I knew who I was to the world. I was the Rose. I couldn't afford to make a mistake otherwise I'd be taken from my dad too. So, I would do as he asked. I would become stronger, stronger to the point where none of my peers can even touch me. That was my destiny. Or so I thought. I thought that for so long.

 **AN: So, that was the first chapter. A lot of familiar faces if you've read STRQ: Tales of the Old Huntsmen. I had a lot of fun coming up with this character. There's nothing ambiguous about her for this story sense it's in first-person. There's a few scenes I am greatly looking forward to. Including next chapter. What do you think?**


	2. Chapter 2

Violet Rose

 **AN: Yesterday was a big day for me. Started this story, released my first episodic review for RWBY, just started fall break. It's going good. I think this story is going to average about 1500 words per chapter, more for the fights.**

Chapter 2: Talking Shadows Tell No Lies

I said before that I was five when my life truly began. But it wasn't my mother's death that defined me. The funeral had only begun to put questions in my head. Questions that I'd be struggling to answer throughout my adolescent life. No, the defining moment was when those questions started to get answered later that same year. The moment that defined me started with Him.

I was going on a walk with my friends. Well, in hindsight I don't think I'd call any of them friends. When I left for Beacon, I stopped talking to them all together. Sometimes I wonder how they're doing. Then again, the fact they haven't died is all I need to know.

I know that I attested to going on that walk. But everyone else was so persistent. I simply couldn't bring myself to say no. Quite the conundrum it is, to be so petrifyingly introverted and thrust out into the open air on a social excursion. I stayed in the middle of the group. I didn't want any chance to be left behind, or to lose sight of my only hope for making it out of the woods.

They were all older than me, and had done their fair share of pranks at my expense. Nothing too foul. I was only five after all. So a lot of it was just petty things like taking my doll or pulling my hood over my eyes. Little things like that is what kids do.

We found our way to the old barn house. It was allegedly the oldest building on Patch. None of us knew who had built it or when. It was a little worse for wear. There were a few holes in the walls. Part of its roof had begun to cave in. It was overrun by vines.

"Ooh, the old barn house." Jasmine said. She was the de facto leader of the group. She was a few years older than me. And she lorded her superior age over us.

"I heard the place is haunted." Bella said. She was the smartest of the group. Or so she claimed. She couldn't go a day without bragging about something she read.

"I heard there's a monster in there that gobbles people up." Aloe said as she made a gesture imitating monster claws. I yelped in fear and tried backing away.

"Let's check it out." Jasmine said.

"I don't want to." I said, trying to be the voice of reason.

"Don't be such a scared-y cat Violet." Aloe said. She was certainly the most adventurous of us.

"I'm not scared." I lied.

"I heard the monster only gobbles up little girls who are too scared to face it." Jasmine said as she clawed at my stomach causing me to shriek. "Calm down. I'm just playing."

They basically drug me in there against my will. I didn't have the heart to protest. They were dead set on going in. As scary as the place was, I was far more terrified of journeying through the woods alone. So long as we were together, I could manage. After all, they were managing so, why couldn't I?

There was a well in the middle of the barn. Even at five, I had a sense that it was out of place. It was covered by a wooden plank. Aloe drew attention to it and hoped on like it was a stage. She started singing some song I'm sure was popular back then. Her genuinely good attitude, and the laughing of my peers, softened my mood.

"Come up here." Aloe grabbed my hands and pulled me up. She held me close and started dancing with me. I won't lie, I was probably having a panic attack. I didn't like being held like that. But I was having too good a time to even notice. Then it came crashing down, almost literally.

"Girls." Jasmine said. The board creaked and snapped under our weight. Aloe managed to fall off and back onto the ground. But I…I fell. I fell through the vines with an echoing scream until I hit the cold hard ground.

"Violet!" Bella screamed.

"Are you okay?" Jasmine said.

"Oh my gods, oh my gods, what are we going to do?" Aloe began panicking. "Violet I'm so sorry!"

"Get me out of hear!" I cried.

"What are we going to do?" Bella said.

"We have to get someone." Jasmine said.

"Are you kidding, my dad will kill me!"

"My dad is cool." Aloe said as she took deep breaths. If only I could do the same. I was having a full-on panic attack. It was so dark and smelly down there. My heart moved so fast it was more of a hum than a beat. Tears ran down my eyes.

"If we run, we can get there and back in just a few minutes." Jasmine said.

"Violet!" Aloe said as she tossed down a flashlight. "We'll be right back for you just…stay calm. I'm so sorry."

"Just hurry!" I said. Then they were gone.

The fact that I was alone was the only solace of the situation. I was breathing so fast and my heart was beating so strong that I couldn't hardly hear myself as I began to cry. This was the worst day ever so I thought. There was no way it could get worse.

I covered my mouth and screamed into my hand. I held the flashlight close to my chest. As the adrenaline wore off, I began gaining control of my breath. That's when I heard it. The sound of breathing was off from mine. It wheezed where I had huffed. I held my breath to make sure and sure enough…

"What is that?" I said in a panic. I looked around with the flash light. There was nothing, no sign of life at the bottom of the well. But there was a stone carving. It was etched with runes I can't read to this day. It had, or rather still has, a carving of some bird like creature clutching a rose bud. The rose was all too familiar. It was my dad's sigil. It was the symbol on all things that belonged to him and his family.

 _"_ _I know what happened in the barn house…"_ Mr. Arc's words ran through my head. Well, maybe they didn't but they do now. Benefit of hindsight. I have no doubt that whatever legacy my family has is still tied to that place.

I didn't dare touch what looked to be a door handle. I had no idea what lied beyond the veil. And what I didn't know, scared me. It is called high uncertainty avoidance. Everyone has some level of uncertainty avoidance, mine was always on a high level.

But sometimes fear is a powerful thing. I heard a clicking noise above me. When I looked up I expected the face of my friends. But instead, it was a Grimm. An Arachne to be specific, but I wouldn't learn that for a few more moments. It hissed and began scurrying down the hole. It must have been lured by my panic attack. I shrieked again fight or flight took over my body as I pulled on the handle.

I managed to open it. The carving was in fact a door leading to a stone hallway. I tried closing the door but the Arachne dropped to the ground and knocked me down. My flash light dropped and clicked off. All that I could see were all the burning red eyes. I tried to squeeze my eyes shut but couldn't. They were wired open in absolute panic. I couldn't move a single fiber in my body.

Then, just as the monster was right in my face, I could see. The darkness was gone. A silver light cast through the hallway. I didn't know, or care about the source. But the Arachne backed off and hissed. Then, the shadows cast by the light bent and flowed around me. And in an instant, the Arachne was ripped apart. And it was dark once again.

"Argentware!" A voice hissed.

"Who's there?" I panicked again. The flashlight clicked on by itself. I grabbed it and waved it around. "Hello."

"You're just a child." The voice said. It seemed to come from all around. "All that panic, and it was just a child." The voice sounded relieved.

"Who are you?" I said. I still couldn't tell where the voice was coming from. I backed against the wall of the well. As I shone the light into the tunnel I could see the shadows squirm around in a spiral.

"I am the creeping darkness. I am the guardian of the tomb. I am the Shadow of the Necropolis." The spiraling shadows took a humanoid form. It was featureless, save for a single red eye that opened differently than a human's. The pupil as well, was a long narrow slit as opposed to an orb. "Think of me as a ghost, bound by duty and curses to watch over this tomb."

"Tomb? Ghost?" I said confused.

"Child, you have no reason to fear me." It produced shadow tendrils around me. "I cannot leave this well, this tomb. The tomb of your ancestors. The mausoleum of Rose."

"Violet!" Aloe's voice shouted up above.

"Violet Rose…so that is your name?" Shadow said.

"It is." She said.

"Well then how about a deal. Sense I saved you from the Arachne, I ask if you visit me sometime. It gets lonely down here you know."

"Saved me…that, was you?"

"Of course it was." Shadow pulled himself back into the hall. "Talking shadows tell no lies." It pulled the door shut. And the sound of my would-be rescuers echoed as Aloe and her father descended to retrieve me.

 **AN: Talking Shadows. Well, if you've read RWBYond Vale, you know who that is. You'll be getting a lot of him for the next few chapters. At least until the Beacon stuff starts. So, what did you think? I personally think I'm good at writing scary situations. Or maybe just stuff I find scary.**


	3. Chapter 3

Violet Rose

 **AN: Hopefully, you'll be getting the next string of chapters at a fairly consistent time. I'm on fall break for the next week and so I'll be having plenty of time to write chapters and do other stuff. Like, I'm making RWBY episode reviews on my YouTube channel (name is the same as on here).**

Chapter 3: Flowers for Flask

It was a few months before I could repay Shadow. My house was clear on the other side of the island. In hindsight, I think the man who built it wanted to get as far away from that barn house as possible. I can't say I blame him, but I don't truly understand him.

Obliviously, I had to wait for Dad to be out of the house for a while. I knew that he wouldn't be pleased with me speaking to a ghost. Then I had to build up the nerve. Which, between my crippling neurosis and my dad's frequent missions, was proving the more difficult of the two prerequisites to fill.

One day, in the fall, Dad left for an extended mission. I was left with Aloe and her parents. I usually stayed with Aunt Gardenia in times like that, but she was taking a trip to Mistral I think. Anyway, one day I managed to build up the nerves in the dead of night. I took my flashlight and a bag of fruit and headed through the forest.

I whistled a series of upbeat tunes as I walked. I tried thinking of anything to distract me from how dangerous this forest could be. Patch was and still is one of the safest forests in Remnant. But it still had its perils. Nowhere in the world was completely Grimm free. Even the four major cities would sometimes have Grimm pop up unannounced. It was just a fact of life. Though, I didn't know all that quite yet. I only knew that Patch was peaceful and still had Grimm.

As I walked, I spotted a pretty flower. I decided to pick it so that I may give it to Shadow. I'm sure he'd appreciate it. Although, it was a dumb idea. Down in that tunnel, there was no place for the flower to grow and develop. It would just die down there. But don't let five-year-old me hear that.

I made it to the barn house. To be honest, I felt relieved. At least then, if I was attacked, I could seek refuge in the tunnel with Shadow. I set up the rope and climbed down the well. It was really quiet that night. Much more peaceful than my first time in the barn. I opened the elaborate door and shuffled in.

"Argentware!" Shadow hissed. I waved my flashlight around. The tendrils of shadow squirmed along the walls. They bent and twisted to form the humanoid form again.

"Shadow?" I said shakenly.

"Don't be scared." Shadow whispered. His body looked to be trembling. "Just a child. No need to be scared…I was beginning to think you weren't coming."

"I wanted to properly thank you." I set the flower down at the stretches of shadow beneath him. Instead of humanoid feet, he had tentacles.

"I guess it was quite difficult to find the time." Shadow said.

"Yep." I pulled out some fruit. "Do you want some?"

"No, we Gr…. ghost have no need to eat. Can't taste it and it offers no sustenance."

"Sub…st?" I struggled to repeat the word.

"I gain nothing of eating the food of humans."

"Then what do you eat?"

"I eat nothing. I haven't eaten anything since I was tasked with watching over this place."

"When you died?"

"In a manner of speaking." Shadow said.

"What were you when you were alive?" I asked.

"Hmmm…" He put a finger below the blob that made his head. "Perhaps I was a mighty warrior. Like your father."

"My father?"

"You are the daughter of Raymond Rose are you not?"

"Yes I am." I said. "You know my father?"

"Your father…is a very scary man. I knew him when he was still a child. Not too unlike yourself."

"My dad isn't scary."

"Maybe not to you. But for someone like myself, he's quite intimidating." I started laughing.

"I didn't think ghosts could get scared." I said. He swirled around me and put a hand on my head.

"Have you ever seen him angry?"

"Yeas I have." I was still laughing. In my mind, my dad was about as far from scary as you could get.

"Well, you've never seen him angry at someone he doesn't care for." Shadow argued.

"Does he not care much for you?"

"Not in the slightest." Shadow slithered around the walls. "So long as I stay down here, I am safe from the Argentware's wrath."

"There's that word again." I registered. "Argent-something. What are you talking about?"

"It's what you are my dear." He twisted around until he hovered near my face. "It is the ancient name of the silver eyed clan. A clan so mighty that they can strike a Grimm down with merely a glance. So, the legends go. But in fact, they are the source of the Grimm's fear."

"Silver eyes." My youthful mind began putting pieces together. "Shadow…is that what the door is about?"

"The mural? Yes and no." He moved a tendril near my eye then jerked it back with a hiss. He tewisted away and began gasping for air.

"What's wrong?"

"Nothing…" He recomposed himself. "Just…a memory."

"Were you an Arege-something?"

"I…you could say that." He started laughing. "But to answer your previous question. The mural tells many stories. Some of them about your clan. Others are about the creation of the world, the division of powers and the first hunters that successfully killed the Grimm. But there's another story. One carved into the ancient stone not too long ago. A story, set to be a reminder…the story of how your father became the last of your kind. Until you came along."

"Is that how you died. You were one of them, did you die too."

"That could be." His features twisted around again. "This IS the tomb of your people. It has sat here on this island for as long as the island has existed." He slipped around to the other side. "Now I am bound here. Tasked with protecting the tomb of your people."

"Our people." I perked up. "I don't know why a tomb needs a guardian. Or even what a tomb is. But I thank you as the only living arge… silver eyed girl."

"Thank you, young Violet." He started laughing uncontrollably. "I don't want to tell you what a tomb is. But you'll find out eventually." He leaned in closer. "It's where dead people are stored. It's like one big grave for multiple people."

"Oh." I mused. Then, with the passing moments of silence it all dawned on me. I shrieked and he laughed. "Why didn't you tell me there's skelemens and ghouls down here." I said.

"Skelemens?" He started laughing again. "SkeleTONS." He corrected. I started to get mad at his laughing.

"Shut up!" I pouted and he fell silent.

"Oh you are so much fun Violet Rose." He said. "But the hour is getting late. You must go now. And never tell anyone… especially your father… that we have spoken. Take this advice to heart. Never let everyone know everything. No good can come from it. So, keep this little meeting as our little secret."

"Alright." I didn't like keeping secrets from my dad. But this was such an odd thing for me, I doubt he'd ever think that I could ever go down here. Especially after the near traumatic first meeting with Shadow. But I nodded my head. "I'll visit you again when I can." I walked out and shut the door before climbing up my rope and headed back the way I came.

 **AN: A little shorter chapter this time. But I'm wrapping this up, right after watching the newest episode. I have to say…one of the best episodes yet. Like I said, this is a shorter story than say, RWBYond War. I hope you're liking it.**


	4. Chapter 4

Violet Rose

 **AN: I don't really have much to say in this author's note. I hope you've been enjoying the story. This was made more for, people who have read my other stories even though it doesn't connect too much. We're coming close to the end of this little mini-arc. After chapter 5 it'll switch gears to Violet joining Beacon.**

Chapter 4: Revelation

I ventured off and on for the next year after that. When I could, I would sneak out and join Shadow down in the tomb. It weirded me out to meet in a tomb, but it was better than nothing. It felt…I can't describe enough at how relieving it was to have someone to talk to. He knew about my family, the legacy I was being forced to uphold. I had so many eyes watching my every move, so many people waiting for me to slip up. And Shadow was there to talk to.

I began thinking of him as my imaginary friend. I knew he was real but still. He told me such wonderful stories. I don't know how true they all were, he never said if any of them were true. I'd like to think they were. I'd like to think he was telling the truth…at least a little bit.

One story he told me got me thinking. It was a story about a young warrior who teamed up with a witch, a wizard and something called an arbiter. The four of them had teamed up against an alchemist. I didn't know what that word meant, but I do now. The story had a really sad ending. The warrior sacrificed herself to stop the alchemist from taking over the world. Six-year-old me retold the story outloud, just to cope with how sad it made me feel.

"Where did you hear that story?" Dad asked. I was telling Aunt Gardenia the story on a whim.

"I…" I didn't want to tell him the truth. I made a promise to Shadow to not let Dad know. "I don't remember. Someone must have been talking about it."

"Do you know what she's talking about?" Aunt Gardenia said.

"No Granny Glens I don't." Dad said.

"Granny? Raymond Rose you are much older than me!" She fumed.

"Hey, you're the leader of the family now. It's not an age thing. That's just a title." He laughed. Aunt Gardenia got really mad. "But anyway, elements of that story are familiar."

"How so?" I asked.

"There's only one story I've heard that used the words arbiter and alchemist in the same sentence." Dad said. "It did not end well for anyone."

"Oh." I started twiddling my fingers. "How did that one go?"

"It's not a story for children. So, I'll ask you again. Where did you hear that story?"

My mind raced with so many possibilities. Should I tell him the truth? Should I lie? All these years later and I still don't know if I handled it the right way. But I had to do something quickly. So, I lied, but not fully. I said it in a believable way.

"The mural." I said.

"Mural?" Aunt Gardenia said.

"The one at the bottom of the well." I looked at my father. He had a look of horror. I felt so guilty and sick. I felt as though I would vomit just from the dread that was across my father's face.

"Violet, that writing is indecipherable." He said.

"I..." Everything I said from here was a lie. "I was curious about it when I first saw it. So, I went back and took pictures of it. I researched it in the library. When I was looking, that's when I found that story."

"I see." He looked so skeptical of that. "Did you hear…any whispers while you're down there?" Shadow was telling the truth. He and Dad do know each other. I was still convinced that I couldn't let him know. But I had to do it in a believable way.

"I did but…I got scared and ran off every time I heard them." He seemed to by it.

"Violet Rose." Dad leaned down and grasped my hand. "I want you to look me in the eye and promise me that you'll never…under any circumstances…go down there again."

"Dad…" I had already made a promise to Shadow. I couldn't keep both promises. I didn't know what to do. Dad always wanted me to keep my word. But how could I when both people were so dead set on opposing promises? "I promise."

"Thank you." Dad said. My heart sank as he said that. "The Shadow of the Necropolis is not to be trusted."

"But…" I stopped myself. My young mind tried reasoning with it. I decided to let it go for now. But curiosity did take over. "What IS the Shadow of the Necropolis anyway?" I asked yet I dreaded the answer.

"A very powerful, extremely clever Grimm." He answered. I felt like my whole world shattered. He, he said he was a ghost. I assumed he was the spirit of one of my…one of our ancestors…an Argentware. I, I couldn't believe it. I didn't believe it. If it was a Grimm, why did he save me? I thought Grimm exclusively destroyed humans and their creations. I had to think about this, so I went up to my room like a zombie until I could reason with myself over this.

So, I sat in my room with my doll and my book. I tried to figure all this out. My mind could only think of one possible reason. Dad. Shadow said he knew him. He feared my father. He probably recognized me as an Argentware like my dad. Dad did say he was clever. Perhaps he was clever enough not to kill me. In fact, thinking about what Shadow had said, he never claimed to be an Argentware, he merely went along with my theory.

I knew I had to see Shadow one more time. I had to get confirmation. I had to confront him. That could be scary. If he really was a Grimm, he may attack me when his secret is revealed. But then again, if he hadn't killed me yet, he may still be friendly for the same reasons. I was broken from my thought by a knock on the door.

"Who is it?" I asked. My Dad came in.

"I'm not mad Violet." He said. "When I was your age, I too talked with the Shadow of the Necropolis."

"What did he say?" I asked.

"That's…I'll tell you when you're older. I just want to tell you; you don't have to fear him. He fears me, he fears us…our kind. It was fear that drove him to do all the terrible things he's done. And it is fear that drove him to that tomb. Albeit, there's a little more than that that's keeping him down there. I'm not worried that he'll kill you. I'm worried that he'll do to you what he did to me. Which is a far worse fate."

"Alright." I said.

"So I'll ask you again, what has he told you?"

"Stories mostly." I admitted. "Nothing bad. Some of them sad. Some of them hard to believe. But nothing too horrible happens in any of them."

"Has he told you what we are?"

"You mean Argentware?" Dad shook his head. "Yeah, in fact, all this time I thought he was a ghost of one of our ancestors." Dad started laughing.

"That's a scarier possibility than the truth. Violet, I'm impressed. I've never met a Grimm that scares me yet, I'm admittedly terrified of ghosts."

"I'm not like that." I said. "He saved me from an Arachne. I was more scared of it than I was of him."

"That's understandable for a child." He grabbed my hand. "But we are Argentware. We are the bane of Grimm. We are the ones they fear. There is no need to ever fear a Grimm, not after you begin your training."

"Oh." I said. I hadn't thought about that in a while. I did want to be a huntress someday. I truly did want to live up to my parents' legacy. "Thank you, for not being angry."

"I could never be angry with you my little rose bud." He kissed me on the cheek, causing my face to go red. Then he left me to my thoughts. I had a lot to live up to. And Shadow had a lot of explaining to do.

 **AN: Another short chapter. So, the cat is out of the bag. I do promise, that this will tie into the stuff that happens later. But as far as perspective goes, I'd like to think this is from Violet's perspective, telling her husband about the events when they're about to have Summer. So that's the level of knowledge I've given Violet the Narrator.**


	5. Chapter 5

Violet Rose

 **AN: And this will conclude the first mini-arc of this story. I also just did a podcast for the newest episode of RWBY. We're going to be doing them weekly. I've had a lot of fun making my videos and writing these chapters. So, I thank you all for reading.**

Chapter 5: Shouts in the Dark

It was a few more months before I was able to see Shadow again. Dad watched me really closely any chance he got. It was stifling really. I felt so much pressure every day. In all honesty, I felt it every day of my life regardless of his presence. But it was still suffocating to have his eyes looking down on me all the time.

It was winter. Winter's on Patch have always been lovely. White pillowy snow covered the ground and the trees were stripped bare. I loved playing in the snow. My dad even had snowball fights with me. He was always easy to find. Red and green weren't exactly the best colors to hide in. Not that my purple cloak was any better.

But one day, I found out exactly why I had so much riding on me. I don't recall when I first saw him. He probably came into Granny Glens Grocery. He wore sunglasses and had long brown hair. He stayed around for a few days and I ran into him a few times. My father didn't seem to like him much. I must admit, he did give me the creeps. The odd thing about him was the tattoo he had on his arm. It was a complex symbol; one I hadn't seen before…or since.

Anyway, one day I managed to give my dad the slip. He was drinking with Mr. Branwen and talking about the Mountain Glenn expansion. Apparently, it was going very well. Construction had started after the war and was almost ready to be a self-sustained city now. Dad and Mr. Branwen had been drinking quite a bit that night. So, I took my cloak and a snack and ran off to the tomb. I quickly climbed down and opened the door when I got there.

"Shadow?" I said.

"Yes Violet?" Shadow slipped along the walls to greet me.

"Is it true?" I asked. Tears were threatening to take my eyes.

"Is what true?"

"That you're a Grimm?" I choked up. Shadow sighed.

"You told your father, didn't you?" He said.

"He…he found me out without me saying anything." I said.

"I see. Raymond Rose was always the clever sort. Yes, it is true that I am a Grimm. But I'm not like the mindless monsters you've heard stories about."

"I…" A tear ran down my frozen face. "I didn't want it to be true. You lied to me."

"Talking shadows tell no lies." He repeated. "I didn't tell you everything. But I have been honest…as much as I could." He reached for me and I jerked away. "Violet, trust me. I saved your life. I comforted you and told you so much when no one else would."

"But…but Grimm are supposed to be evil."

"I have evolved beyond that definition of Grimm." Shadow boasted. He swirled all around me. "Trust in me. I know the thought of befriending humanity's bane is scarry. Believe me, I feel the same. Your kind, the Argentware, are destined to slaughter Grimm. I'm terrified of that power, the power your father has and you surely have as well."

"D-did you ever kill anyone?" I asked. I dreaded the answer.

"Not since I evolved beyond primal urges." He said. His tendrils wrapped around me. "You can trust me." His voice was soothing.

"I believe you." I said. "But I…I can't see you anymore." I felt him clench up around me.

"Yes you can." Shadow said. At that moment, the man made his presence known.

"Isn't this sweet?" He said. He spun an axe around. "A beauty and a beast." He said.

"Who are you?" Shadow hovered above me.

"That doesn't matter. Do you know how long I've been looking for this place?"

"Congratulations. You found it." Flask's tendrils wrapped around the man and began squeezing him. There was a flash of blue light and Shadow screeched in pain.

"I wasn't expecting a fight." The man said. "But I'll give you a fight none the less."

"Opportunity." Shadow hissed. "Violet, I can't promise I can protect you…not in this form. I need your help. Just trust in me."

"Alright." I said in a panic. The man started slicing through the tendrils of shadow. Shadow's main body wrapped around me.

"That's right…for this to work you have to completely trust me." Shadow said.

I saw nothing but darkness. His presence clouded my vision until all I saw was a red and black cloud all around me. For the first time in my life, I felt lost. I felt as though I didn't know who I was. I once again felt fear at the oblivion I stared down. In that fear, a blast of silver and green light blinded me. Both parties present screamed.

"What!" The man screamed.

"Not…just…an Argentware!" Shadow screamed. The light remained in my eyes for what felt like eternity. Then, another light came in and suppressed it.

"Violet!" My dad shouted. The light cleared and I heard a blade piercing the stone.

"Daddy?" I whispered. I collapsed and started hyperventilating.

"Flask?" Dad said angrily.

"I'm so sorry please don't hurt me!" Shadow screeched from the wall. That was the last I heard before I passed out.

When I came to, it was early evening. My dad sat in a chair next to me. Mr. Branwen stood by the window. My head and entire body hurt a lot. I tried piecing together what happened. I tried to focus but couldn't even form words.

"You're okay." Dad said. He put a hand on my lap.

"What happened?" I asked.

"You unleashed the power of silver eyes down in that tomb." Mr. Branwen said. "And on a level I've never seen."

"Corvus, may I remind you that as far as Argentware go, I am quite weak. Violet also has Glens blood in her. Naturally, she'll be much more powerful than me." He looked at me. "And first time is always the roughest."

"What do you mean? What happened?" I pleaded.

"We're not entirely sure." Mr. Branwen said. "There was a man…with a sigil I've never seen before. I'll investigate it on my own time."

"The Shadow of the Necropolis went catatonic." Dad said.

"Cata what now?"

"He's not even going to be able to move for a while. Our power, that white light, has an extremely powerful effect on him. He tried taking your body, whether to defend you or escape…most likely both, and he bit off more than he could chew."

"I see." I tried getting up.

"Rest now." Dad said. "Corvus…it was nice seeing you again." He shook Mr. Branwen's hand. "Do keep me informed on if you find anything. It doesn't matter if he was after the tomb, my daughter or Flask, each of those possibilities are frightening." After Mr. Branwen left, he sat back down.

"There's something you're not telling me." I saw through his gaze.

"No…I'm just not telling him." He leaned in closer. "In the chaos you also used your semblance. Scattering Speed, same as mine and all those who bare the name of Rose. Not only that, but it wasn't just the Argentware power you used."

"But you said…"

"Exactly what I want Corvus to think. He'll undoubtedly inform Professor Ozpin and I do not want him turning you into something you don't want to. So, do you remember the story…of the Four Maidens?"

 **AN: Shorter than I thought. Then again, I wasn't going to have her pass out, but it made a lot of sense if she did. It's the same as Ruby at the end of volume 3, but a lot younger, so she was probably passed out for way longer. Logic. Anyway, thanks for reading.**


	6. Chapter 6

Violet Rose

 **AN: I'm back again. I'm also feeling a little tired. I might take a day off and give you two chapters in one day. I have a schedule to keep but all these days of writing, plus working on videos and schoolwork, is finally catching up with me. On second thought, I'll do what I did last time and just back log a few chapters and take time off writing while still having a chapter a day. Yeah, that sounds better.**

Chapter 6: Beacon of Hope

Nearly ten years passed after I found out I was the Spring Maiden. My father began training me after that day. He was a good teacher. He had been a teacher for years, even before I was born. It was a different side of him. It was nice. Not his temperament, he was strict. It was just nice to be pushed.

I became quite good. Dad was impressed with my progress. By the time I was sixteen, I could run faster than him. My semblance as well, was much more potent than his nigh identical semblance. He taught me how to be the perfect Grimm fighting machine. I learned that the best way to fight Grimm was to outmaneuver them. I learned that no amount of aura can save someone if they are swallowed by a Grimm.

On my fourteenth birthday, I forged an axe. Weapons were still simple back then. The first multi-form blades and gun-blades were still in an experimental stage. Not many of my classmates even attempted to make one. I forged a simple axe with a nature dust crystal in its handle. I didn't need the dust, but Dad said it was a great way to conceal my powers. Any nature I call in battle would be credited to the dust and not the magic.

Lastly, was the hood. I wore a violet hooded cape, much like my mother's green cape. I also wore a lavender blouse and a black skirt. I liked the hood, it helped me hide my face. I was still dreadfully shy, as I still am. As far as I'm concerned, the less attention I get the better.

Of course, there was the issue of what to do. Surprisingly, my dad gave me a choice. I could stay on Patch and defend it. Or I could go to Beacon and become a huntress. When I thought about my power, my abilities. The answer was easy. I wanted to be useful. I wanted to be strong. I had too much going for me to settle for less. So I joined Beacon.

I arrived on the campus and made a B line for the orientation. That was when I first saw him. I didn't think much at first, too occupied with concealing my own presence. He had a yellow tunic on with a fiery red cape. His hair was a dark, thick, oily red. His eyes were as green as the leaves of trees in Patch's spring. He was the one man who noticed me sinking into the corner of the room. His smile made my heart skip. Or maybe that's just me looking back with rose tinted glasses.

That was also when I first saw Professor Ozpin. He looked quite a bit different than how he looked when I first met him as a girl. Looking back, I know why. That was the wartime Ozpin. The same one that trained my mother in the power of the maidens. This was an Ozpin of peace, the humble headmaster of Beacon. Never mind the man behind the curtain, which was the same Ozpin as all the others.

"Hello students." He greeted from his stage. "You are all here, because you wish to be beacons of hope. Since the end of the Great War, we have experienced a time of unparalleled peace. A peace, the likes of which no man has seen. Just to the southeast, a symbol of that peace has become the first expansion of Vale. A city on the other side of the first line of the Valean mountains, yet still sheltered in its shadow."

"It is a huntsman's duty, to protect the people from what lies beyond the veil." He continued. "True, since the Battle of Vytal, Grimm activity has declined. We no longer fear the creatures of darkness. The four kingdoms stand united in this celebration. And it is thanks to your predecessors, people like you, that we have such luxury. I welcome you to Beacon Academy. Where lights grow ever brighter. Thank you."

I for one felt inspired by the speech. I didn't fear the Grimm. I knew better than that. The Grimm should fear me and they did. I wanted to be a huntress to help those who needed it. I expected to eventually fight bandits, and those that took advantage of the villages that dotted the kingdoms. Of course, there would be Grimm as well. But they weren't a threat to a huntsman, let alone someone with the powers I possessed.

I continued to keep to myself that night. There were some people who tried being friendly, but most of them gave up when I refused to be sociable. Mr. Branwen visited me for a quick chat, but I had nothing to say to him. I just sat in the ball room and read my book until I fell asleep.

The next day was initiation. As I prepared my weapon, I noticed several students doing the same. I head a pair of girls talking to the guy I noticed earlier. I found out his name was Julius, one of the girl's name was Lucky and the other's name was Silicon. Apparently, they had gone to combat school together.

"So, Julius, have you thought about who you want on a team?" Silicon said.

"Well, I…. not in the slightest." Julius gave them a glowing smile.

"Teams will be groups of four." Lucky said. I felt my world shatter. "If we're lucky, which I am, then it'll be the three of us and one other person." Four? I had to spend the rest of my time here with three other people. Complete strangers none the less. I closed my eyes and breathed slowly. I could do this. Who cares if tensions were rough at first? Four years living with three people, we were bound to become friends. But what if we don't get along.

"Everything going alright Violet?" Julius asked. My heart skipped several beats.

"Wait, uh, what?" I tripped over my words. "How do you know my name?" I asked.

"I don't. I just said the color of your hood." Julius said. "Your name's Violet? That's a fitting name." He stuck his hand out. "Julius Season, that's my name. You look…distressed. So I thought you could use a friendly face."

"Who said I looked distressed?" I got defensive.

"Oh, I don't know…you squeezing your eyes shut with your fists clenched while you rapidly shake your head."

"Oh!" I blushed and pulled my hood up over my face. "I'm not much of a people person. The idea of being in a team with three strangers for four years isn't appealing." Oh, how I wondered why I even told him this instead of running off like usual.

"Well, you know how the old proverb goes…strangers are just friends you haven't met yet." Julius put his hand down. I made it obvious that I didn't want any physical contact. Luckily now…well I've made up for it since.

"All students please report to the Emerald Cliff." Mr. Branwen said. I ran out towards the cliff, thankful that the situation was over.

The objective was simple. Find the temple and get a relic. First person you make eye contact with is your partner. After being launched, I used my semblance to soar through the sky. I used my axe to break my momentum as I slid around the tree. I pulled my hood up to increase my tunnel vision. I sprinted around the forest in short bursts and stuck primarily to the tree tops.

I managed to spot the forest temple along the edge of the forest. It was pretty easy to find. The whole area around it was cleared so it wasn't like it was sheltered by trees. The hardest part was the beowolves that stood between me and my destination. They were more of a nuisance than anything. Even for someone without my abilities, beowolves were th bottom of the Grimm food chain.

I made it in a matter of minutes. The relics were a bunch of jars and vases of various shape and color. I contemplated just taking one and going. But I was going to be put on a team regardless. So, might as well wait. Whoever came next was sue to be strong, so at least I wouldn't have to worry about that.

A few minutes later, a green portal opened and a girl stepped through. It was Lucky. She wore a green blouse and white pants and had light red hair and a face full of freckles. She fell out of the portal face first. Then, she picked herself up and brushed the dirt off.

"I made it?" She said. "I made it!" She cheered. "Third times the charm oh lucky me."

"Hello again." I forced myself to smile.

"Oh, I'm not the first one here." She said. "Lucky, you."

 **AN: Few things, this IS the same Ozpin we all know. I made a reference to that several times in my other stories that he re-forges himself and that the Ozpin of the Great War was a different Ozpin. With the Ozpin, we know, having held that form for about seventy years. Other than that, it was a little relieving writing in a more constrained STRQ/Old Huntsmen pace with this POV.**


	7. Chapter 7

Violet Rose

 **AN: So, don't worry, even if this was a bit late, this story will continue its chapter a day release schedule. I'm spending today editing my next video and back logging several chapters. It's not the first time I've done it, it won't be the last.**

Chapter 7: Color of Peace

We made it to the cliff rather quickly after that. Lucky's semblance created portals that could transport her anywhere within a certain radius. Problem is, she can't control where the portal leads. She can only pick the general direction and hope for the best.

"Congratulations Ms. Charm and Ms. Rose." Ozpin said. "You're the first team to make it back."

"Lucky us." Lucky said as she elbowed me in the side. "And it only took four jumps to get back here." I didn't want to rain on her parade, but my stomach had not taken the journey well. It also didn't help that her semblance was channeled through her escrima sticks that made an obnoxious ding when banged together.

"So, what now?" I asked.

"Well Ms. Rose, the two of you can relax while we wait for your comrades."

So, we sat on a bench. Lucky asked me a few questions about where I was from and what my family was like. I tended to give her short answers. She also answered the same questions about herself. I listened out of politeness. I found out she was from the northern string of villages. She and her two friends, Julius and Silicon, had studied at Lighthouse Academy.

I hoped for the sake of consistency that those two would join us. At least then, the circle would stay small. Those three knew each other and no one else, and I knew no one else. So, I'd be stuck with them. That was a good plan. Then again, three girls and a guy seemed a little weird. Then all my thoughts went to various questions and possibilities. Like, what would be sleeping the arrangements? Did we have to share bathrooms? What would I do if someone walked in on me?

I was distracted by the crippling line of thoughts by two new arrivals. They were both boys. One of them had neatly combed blonde hair and had an air of dominance about him. The other wore a purple cape and sported nappy light brown hair.

"Well, Ranch, we made it." The blonde said.

"Congratulations Mr. Goodwitch and Mr. Grinnitch." Ozpin said. "You made it, and stuck together."

"Us Torch Academy boys have to stick together." The blonde said.

"Yeah, things got hairy with that nevermore." Ranch said. "But Poppy managed to strike it from the sky."

"May I see your relics?" Ozpin asked. They showed him their vases. They looked different than ours. "Thank you." Poppy and Ranch took a seat away from Lucky and I. A few more phased in throughout the afternoon. Than Julius walked up with Silicon in tow.

I felt a quick tinge of relief before I remembered that I knew nothing about these two, these three really. They showed Ozpin their relic, it was different from ours but identical to Poppy and Ranches. Julius took a sea next to Lucky and they started conversing about what happened in the Emerald Forest.

The last group to arrive was a light-brown skinned man wearing a wing suit and a blonde girl with a dust wand in the shape of a riding crop. They rocketed up the cliff and landed ungracefully. After picking themselves up and apologizing, they showed Ozpin their relic.

"Here you go sir." The girl said.

"Thank you, Ms. Green." Ozpin said. She responded with a bashful smile.

"Let's go." The man in the wing suit said.

"Alright, everyone is here." Ozpin said. "You have all passed admirably. Lucky Charm, Nelliel Green, Rah Godwin and Violet Rose. From this day forward you will be Team LAVR (Lavender). You will be led by Lucky Charm."

"Me?" Lucky said. "Lucky me." She said worriedly.

"Congrats." Julius put a hand on her shoulder.

"I think you'd make a fine leader." I said. Whether it was the truth I had yet to find out. I'm just glad I wasn't the leader. I have no idea what I would have done.

"Julius Season…" Ozpin interrupted. "Poppy Goodwitch, Ranch Grinnitch, and Silicon Ayer. From this day forward, you will be known as Team JSPR (Jasper). You will be led by Julius Season."

"Led by?" Julius stammered.

"Lucky, you!" Lucky said proudly.

"I knew you could do it." Silicon bopped him on the shoulder.

"This is looking to be an interesting semester." Ozpin said.

If by interesting he meant terrible, he'd be right. I didn't have horrible roommates, far from. Nellie kept it quite tidy and was a descent cook. Well, all of us except Lucky, were descent cooks. Rah kept his corner of the room nice. I don't recall ever having any embarrassing moments involving him.

The classes were difficult. From day one, I knew what I got myself into. The Grimm Studies professor, Professor Bow, was a boisterous man. He often recounted stories from his life as a trapper in the southern villages. He would hunt animals and Grimm alike. But that's not what put me on edge.

"I see we have someone truly special in here." He said. "For centuries, the Rose family have been among the greatest hunters of Grimm. In fact, it was Raymond Rose who defined the term Huntsman as we know it today. And the fact that your mother is Acacia Glens, the woman who helped forge this school…I'm expecting big things from you Ms. Rose."

I didn't…I couldn't say anything. If anyone didn't hate my guts before I was sure they did after that. He basically just outed me and my whole family. He made me the target of those who would like to take me down a peg. He made me the standard that everyone strives towards. And because of my own STUPID insecurities, those idiotic things that held me down for so long…I took it to heart, and couldn't bear to prove him wrong. Lucky for me…

"What a douche." Lucky said as we got back to the room. "Can you believe him? Singling out one of his students. You'd think he has a grudge or something."

"May I remind you that Violet is that student." Nellie said. All I coul do was curl up on my bed and try to relax.

"So, Vi, your family were a bunch of hotshot monster hunters." Lucky turned her attention to me. "That's cool. Can't wait for you to show us what you got in the combat arena."

"I'll try to live up to expectations." I said.

"Screw that, just be you. Be the best you can be. You know…anyone who trained at Lighthouse Academy learned from Arthur Arc."

"The founder of this school?" Rah asked.

"Lucky me, right?" She smiled.

"I don't think that's the same." I admitted. "Don't get me wrong, as someone who actually had the chance to meet Arthur Arc, he is exactly how that statue outside portrays him. But like you said, everyone in Lighthouse trains under him, everyone at Signal trained under my dad. Yet, I'm the only one from there to come here this year."

"You going somewhere with this?" Nellie said.

"I don't know." I said. "I'm just rambling." I laid on my back and stared up at the ceiling. "I know I can do this. I know I'm strong. But if I were to live up to expectations, I have to be more than that."

"What? Like Perfect?" Nellie said.

"Yeah, something like that." I said.

 **AN: Her days at Beacon begin. The next few chapters are going to blast through time until we get to the Vytal Festival. I hope you're liking the story thus far. If you are leave a review, and if you aren't tell me why.**


	8. Chapter 8

Violet Rose

 **AN: Happy Thanksgiving for all my fellow Americans. Like I said, we're going to be blasting through some time until we get to the tournament. This part is also a little fuzzy in terms of what I want to do with it.**

Chapter 8: Untouchable

Within a few weeks, I had done it. I had set the bar impossibly high. It started with a battle against Silicon. The first stretch of my winning streak ended when I handedly beat Poppy. I was the talk of Vale. I hadn't lost a single fight. My aura meter, as rudimentary as they were back then, had never gone into the yellow. They could barely touch me.

Exhibition matches play pretty fast and loose. Up to four people can fight up to four people. Any combination, any team, any number. I had entire teams fight me at once but still, I couldn't make a mistake. I couldn't bring myself to that humiliation. So, I fought tooth and nail to keep it up.

My team was impressed. Rah thought he hit the gold mine with me as a teammate. Nellie tried kissing up to me…at least when she wasn't trying to bat her eyelashes at Poppy. I wouldn't have noticed had she not talked about him all the time.

But a lot of that stuff made me uncomfortable. I came here to become a huntress and live up to my parents' legacy. I didn't come here to talk boys or inquire on who would make a cute couple. I studied, trained and read all day every day and did my best to ignore my team. Again, I wasn't a people person. But at least I was nice about it, unlike Poppy.

"Come on Vi, there has to be someone." Nellie insisted.

"There's not." I said while reading my Grimm Studies book.

"There's not some handsome farm boy?" Nellie asked. "Maybe a sailor who comes around the port?"

"Nope." I said flatly.

"Ooh…maybe someone here?" She suggested. "Oh, just don't tell me it's Poppy."

"It's not." I said.

"Julius?" She said. Julius had been nice. He wasn't much in a fight…at least not compared to me. But he was quite charming. Even back then, as much of an awkward teenager he was. His mile would still sparkle like moonlight. I guess to my dismay, my mind went on a similar path as it is looking back on it now.

"Huh?" I said. I guess my face was red.

"Oh, my God it is Julius!" Nellie cheered. She went for the door but I caught her by the collar. There was no way she could out run me or overpower me.

"I don't like any guys. Not like that anyway." I scowled.

"Come on Vi, I've seen the way you look at him. He's probably the only one you look at with anything more than politeness."

"I don't have any romantic feelings whatsoever. Not for him or anybody else."

"Lighten up! You can't just spend your whole life in a shell."

"I don't need to come out of my shell to live my life."

"Come on! I know you love those old stories of heroes and monsters, maidens and magicians. Deny it all you want but deep down I know, somewhere in that little purple soul of yours, is a helpless romantic just waiting to escape."

"One, you don't know anything about me. Two, even if it was true, that romantic would be angry if you just blabbed off your theories to the world. Three, Lucky already likes Julius."

"Ahem!" Lucky coughed. "Don't bring me into this." She said as she adjusted her headphones. "Gross, Julius is like my brother."

"But you do talk to him a lot."

"It's a familiarity thing. Get to know him and you'll want to talk to him too." Lucky threw in a wink.

"Don't count on it." I said.

"Violet, I know being moody and antisocial is a big part of who you are. With the other part being an absolute badass. Believe me, Julius has noticed that much. And Lucky you, I know exactly what it takes to catch his eye."

"Really?" I said. She smirked at me causing me to shake my head.

"And it's that gut reaction that makes me think, that if nothing else, you find him handsome." Nellie bragged. I got up.

"Whatever. If you need me, I'll be out in the training ground." I went out and vented a little bit. When I reached the training ground, as if it couldn't get any worse, Julius was there. He was practicing his sword play. It was an odd weapon, forged from dust instead of metal.

Training drones were a lot simpler back then. They were merely targets that could be set on treads, given guns, or anything else that could be easily programmed. They were easy. I was thankful that Dad had been my sparring partner for all these years.

But still, Julius focused and I hid behind a tree and waited. I don't know what got into me to watch him swing his sword repeatedly. But I did. For minutes on end I did. I just stood behind the tree, stewing in my own self-exile.

"So, are you going to just stand there or are you going to say hi?" He said as he leaned in from the other side of the tree.

"Ah, Julius." I shot out. "I mean, hello."

"So what'cha doing?" He asked.

"Nothing, just…needed to get out of the room for a while."

"Lucky can be a bit much." Julius said. We sat on the ground next to each other.

"She's fine…it's Nellie who gets on my nerves." I said.

"I see." He paused a moment. "So, do you want to have a spar. I know I'm not on your level but…"

"You're fine." I said. "And you can afford to be."

"What's that supposed to mean?"

"It means you don't have all the eyes on you do like I do."

"Are you saying that you beat us all to a pulp to prove something; because I think you've proven plenty."

"No, I mean…maybe…it's just like Professor Stern said, I have a legacy to uphold. We're known as the best and I have to prove it every day or else."

"Or else what?" He was prying. I couldn't tell him. I couldn't let him know about the maidens or how one slip up can expose my true nature.

"One slip up can mean the difference of life and death." I kept my answer vague.

"Violet…we're all here for the same job. Even if we have different things that drive us. We're all here to fight monsters and save lives. And as a leader, I'm responsible for my whole team as well."

"So, you're saying that if I screw this up, it'll look bad on Lucky Too?"

"No that's not the point! I'm saying we all have a lot riding on us."

"But I'm the one whose parents were these legendary warriors."

"And I don't care about any of that. I don't care who your parents are. All of us have to keep moving forward. To me, you are Violet Rose, a young beautiful girl who could kick my ass seven ways to Sunday. You're the strongest person I know. That's all that matters to me."

"And you're a cocky guy with a winning smile whose sword skills are adamant. You're nice, charming, a picturesque hero in the making. But that's all you'll be." I said sourly. I was worried that I hurt his feelings with that last bit but he just smiled.

"So, you think I'm charming?" I pushed him away.

"If I mop the floor with you, will you stop pestering me?"

"Won't hurt your chances." He said. He stood up and chivalrously held his hand down. I still stood up on my own though. I grabbed my axe and we began our spar. It didn't last long. It never does with me. I beat him handedly with a high-speed strike to the face.

"I win." I gloated.

"One of these days I'm going to catch up." He said.

"And I'll just keep getting faster." I said. "You didn't even lay a scratch on me."

"Yeah, if you could just…hold still for once…I know a lot of us guys would greatly appreciate it."

"Can't afford to make mistakes."

"But it's just training."

"Practice how you play." I said.

"Hmmm…I just thought of a nickname for you."

"I already have a nickname. Vi, short for Violet."

"No, this is a real nickname. A heroic title name. How does "The Untouchable Violet Rose" sound?"

"I like it." I said. "Lot to live up to though."

"Not any more than what you're trying to do." He winked.

"I guess you're right." I blushed. "Goodnight Julius." I said as I thought about what he said.

 **AN: And that's another chapter down. I hope you all like how I'm doing Violet. I feel I haven't given this story the appropriate attention with all the videos I've been working on. Speaking of which, look me up on YouTube to see my reviews for RWBY.**


	9. Chapter 9

Violet Rose

 **AN: Black Friday today and I just added Skyrim to my PC game library. It really sucks that After this weekend, it's back to school for a few more weeks until winter break. Oh well. Here's another summary type chapter to cover another time skip for this story.**

Chapter 9: Violet's Garden

Julius was right. He is always right. I don't know how he does it, see through me that is. Here we were, cramming for our first finals at Beacon. All of us edging to return home for the winter season. They all felt the wear and tear of a year at Beacon. But me, I just continued furthering the gap.

"Unlucky are we, that there wasn't a Vytal Festival tournament this year." Lucky said.

"We'll fight in the next one." Rah said.

"And we'll be unstoppable!" Nellie cheered. "Or at least untouchable." She nudged me.

The name had grown on me. Julius had coined it and it stuck. The Untouchable Violet Rose, a title worthy of a warrior of legend. But for a student, all it did was make the already gargantuan target on my back that much bigger. In hindsight, I know why he gave me that title. He was making fun of me. He was making fun of my desire for perfection.

"I'm so sick of studying!" Lucky called out.

"Leaders lead by example." Rah said. Lucky grumbled something under her breath.

"Well then as leader, I say we all take a break." Lucky said. "Not, only that, but let's go somewhere…preferably somewhere with enough coffee to melt an elephant's brain."

"Yes!" Nellie said.

"Alright." Rah said. They all started getting their street clothes on.

"Coming Vi?" Nellie asked.

"I think I'll stay here." I said.

"Oh, no you don't." Lucky grabbed my hand. "Lucky for you, I'm not the kind of leader who'll just let you sit around and brood all day."

"But…" I rose to protest but she put a finger on my lip.

"No buts. You ARE coming with us." She pulled my hood over my face and dragged me out the door.

It wasn't the first time I had been kidnapped for a late-night excursion. It wasn't the last either. I appreciated Lucky, and her drive. She was fine with me being anti-social and introverted. But she also wanted a limit on it. She didn't ask me to contribute to the conversation while we were out. She didn't push me to talk to boys or anything. Not like Nellie did. She just didn't want me to stew away in our room.

"So, what are your plans for break?" Nellie asked.

"Same as everyone else's." Lucky said. "Go home, see the family and friends."

"Gah, it's going to be so BORING here!" Nellie groaned.

"Well big city girl, lucky for you my parents have a decent house." Lucky said. "You're free to visit."

"What? Out in the country?" Nellie rolled her eyes.

"And what's wrong with that?" Violet said.

"Hey, Patch might be some Podunk backwater town, but it's still a stone's skip away from where the party's at." Nellie said.

"Whatever, my home town has plenty to do." Lucky said. "Why don't you come along Violet? Surely seventeen years of seeing nothing but Patch is enough for your lifetime."

"Thanks for the offer but…my dad is wanting to take me and visit Mountain Glenn."

"Still just a five-minute train away." Nellie groaned.

"Not the point." Violet said. "I…I haven't hardly been able to see my dad this semester. He wants to spend time with me. And I heard Mountain Glenn has a really beautiful garden."

"You won't see much of it until schools about ready to start back up." Lucky said.

"I know." I said.

"There's still plenty to go and do." Rah said. "Mountain Glenn is quite the impressive establishment."

"I know right." Nellie said. "Too bad Vi has to be such a daddy's little girl. I'd like to take us all there."

"Lay off Nellie." Lucky said.

"But she is." Nellie said.

"Am not." I defended.

"Are too. It's always my dad this, my family that." Nellie mocked.

"She's got her reasons!" Lucky said.

I hadn't told them everything. But I had told them the truth wrapped in metaphors and fairy tales. They knew I was from a prestigious warrior blood line. They knew the part my parents played in ending the great war, that it was my mother's likeness that was immortalized in stone down in the courtyard.

"She's right." I said. "I am my father's daughter. We're the only two people left from the silver eyes clan. Their legacy is our burden. It's something I have to live with for the rest of my life."

"You don't have to live with it alone." Rah said.

"Lucky, you, you have a team, and another team that has your back." Lucky said.

"I know and…thank you. But we all have our own burdens to lift. Mine maybe greater, but it doesn't invalidate any of yours."

"We lift them together." Lucky said. "All of us help, as a team, a group, a school, a kingdom, a civilization. Everyone with their own purpose."

"It's like a team battle." Rah said. "A good team doesn't just do matchups and split into sets of one-on-one."

"Violet…" Lucky trailed off. "You're the most capable, strong, intelligent person I know. Whatever size this burden, I know you can handle it. But I don't want you to handle it alone."

"I know." I said.

After changing the subject back to lighter subject, in which I dodged questions about boys as nimbly as I dodge bullets in battle, we took out conversation back to school. It had been a fun night. But like all good things, it must come to an end. But it didn't without one more line of questioning.

"So, what are you getting him for Solstice?" Lucky asked.

"Who?" I asked.

"Julius silly."

"What makes you think I'm getting him anything?"

"Um…just the other night, you told me you were planning on getting all of us something." She retorted.

Winter Solstice, the longest night of the year and one of the biggest holidays in the world. It celebrated the brave people who protected their people against the Grimm on those cold unforgiving nights. It was usually commemorated with gift giving between friends and family.

"I don't know yet." I said.

"I'm getting him some new pajamas." Lucky said. "If the last few years are an indication, he'll give me another bracelet."

"What do you think he's getting me?" I asked.

"He's not the most thoughtful. As it stands, he'll probably just give you a necklace, or some other jewelry. If you want, I can sneak in a suggestion to him sometime."

"Well, I don't care for jewelry." I said. "I'd be happy with a whetstone or a repair kit."

"Anything besides that?" Lucky said. The way she said it made me think that's what she was planning on getting me.

"Um…I like books."

"What kind of books?" Rah said.

"All kinds."

"Adventure." Lucky said flatly.

"Romance?" Nellie nudged me.

"Comedy?" Rah suggested.

"Those are all well and good." I said.

"I got just the book." Lucky said.

"What book?" I asked.

"Nah ah-ah." Lucky said. "Wouldn't want to spoil the surprise. But trust me. Julius will be buying the book for you for Solstice."

"Oh great, now you have me anxious." Violet said.

"Oh, t's just a perfect book for you." Lucky said. "To be honest, I thought about getting it for you myself. You'll understand why when you read it."

"Well that sounds ominous." I said.

A few weeks passed after that night. I got through finals with strait As, more than I could say about some of my teammates. We had a Solstice gift exchange party, just the eight of us. I got a dust charm for Lucky, a model airship for Rah, and a special dust cartridge for Nellie. Then I gave Poppy an encyclopedia on dust, a new briefcase for Ranch, and a new red suit for Julius. I spent more on that than I did anything else.

In return Lucky gave me a repair kit. Rah gave me a whetstone. Nellie gave me a book that, judging from its title, was not the sort of thing a proper girl should be reading. Poppy got me a book on flowers, where to find them, how to grow them, and what they mean. Ranch a satchel that matched my cloak. Julius got me a book.

"Told you it would be perfect." Lucky said. "Lucky, you got a friend like me."

"Yeah, Lucky suggested it." Julius said. Nellie started laughing when she saw the title.

I looked at him wide eyed. I quickly read the back of the cover. A young girl with power over nature finds her garden poisoned by a dark magic. So, she must set out on a journey to protect her home, and her future. A tale of adventure, romance and family. A true modern fairy tale. _Violet's Garden._

"Julius." I said. I felt so small as he gazed down on me.

"I thought it was just a joke." He scratched the back of his head. But I read a few passages, I think it actually does suit you." He put a hand on my shoulder. I pictured myself wrapping my arms around him…but couldn't. I barely knew him, and I had no idea how I really felt about him, let alone what he thought of me. Besides, it was more a gift from Lucky than him.

"Thanks." I said as I brushed his hand off and turned away. Later that night I would be kicking myself over the missed opportunity. But I guess, for me at that point, it was better than the worst-case scenario.

 **AN: One of the things I've been doing with this story is irony. It's ironic that the reasons why Violet is so powerful and confident, are the same reasons she's so secluded and unhappy. Another irony is the insistence that her and her dad are the last of the Argentware, which if you've read RWBYond War, you know isn't actually the case.**


	10. Chapter 10

Violet Rose

 **AN: Skipping way ahead for this chapter. This will be focusing on Violet's second year and introduce (or reintroduce as it may be) some power players for the remainder of the story. And if you've been keeping stock on all my OCs from RWBYond Vale, then this is the fan-service-y chapter I've been building too.**

Chapter 10: Arrival

My second year went by in more of a blur. First year was all about books and team building. Second year introduces more practical stuff. Advanced aura control, dust infused semblances, aura therapy, those were all classes for second years. Plus, for about a week out of every month we would go on a mission. We shadowed one of the professors just outside the walls of the kingdom. It was our first look at what life as a huntsman would be like.

After passing all our classes for the first semester and returning from our last mission for a while, we visited the docks. Vale was full of life and decorating for the Vytal Festival that would be at the end of the year. At the same time as our arrival, a ship from Vacuo was pulling in.

With both Vale and Vacuo on Sanus, it was ordinary for them to be the first when their respective kingdoms hosted the festival. Mistral and Mantle students would be arriving as the next semester was about to begin.

Lucky decided to people watch. The students coming from Shade were the best Vacuo had to offer. The students were welcomed by some Vale dignitaries and dragged around on a tour. A few hours later, we ran into one of the teams. Two of them were wrapped head to toe in light-brown cloth. Another one was a Faunas with wolf ears wearing nothing on his chest. The other one was a large man with silvery hair and green eyes wearing a yellow over coat.

"Hey!" Nellie waved. "You're from Vacuo, right."

"Dang it Nellie." I hissed.

"Silver haired one is kind of cute." She whispered.

"We are." The man walked over to us. "My name is Ambrose Thurston, leader of team AMBR."

"Thurston?" Lucky said. "Where have I heard that name before?" She contemplated.

"This is Maccabees, Bolin, and Rhud." He said. The two wearing identical clothes were Maccabees and Bolin. The dog Faunas was Rhud.

"Nelliel Green, you can call me Nellie." She winked at him. He didn't even react.

"Rah Godwin." Rah said.

"Violet." I said softly. He looked into my eyes and focused his gaze. I averted his glare.

"Oh uh…Lucky Charm, yes that really is my name." Lucky said in concentration. "Ah, you…are the headmaster's son."

"I am." He said seriously.

"On second thought, I don't know how to talk to you." Nellie murmured.

"You three, go on ahead." Ambrose motioned to his team. "I'll catch up."

"Don't stay for small talk." Lucky said. "We'll probably see each other around, if we're lucky…which I am." The other three still went off ahead, passing me by without a second glance.

"We should get going too." Nellie said. "It was a pleasure meeting you." Nellie started walking off. Lucky, Rah and myself followed suit. Then, as I passed him, I felt him nudge my arm.

"Rose." He said lowly. I stopped in my tracks. We were side by side but facing away.

"I don't recall giving my last name." I said.

"I know who you are." Out of the corner of my eye I saw his hand flexing. "I know what you are."

"Silver Eyes." I said. "It makes sense that the son of a headmaster would know about us."

"Not that. Though, that is how I distinguished you. Our mothers were friends…once upon a time."

"Anyone I've met?" I asked.

"She once told me that she met you…at your mother's funeral." He said. "Her name is Amber…I swear my father named me leader and put my team together in just a way to impress her."

"How is your mom?" I asked.

"She's alive…out and about God knows where but alive nonetheless."

"She left you?" I inquired.

"No, she visits when she can. The road of a maiden is one paved in honor and duty. But you already know about that, don't you?" My heart skipped a beat. "Spring?"

"I…have no idea what you're talking about." I lied.

"Not many people would." I could see his hand rising to eye level as he clenched his fist again. "I hope we can fight on the field of battle. The son of a maiden and headmaster versus the daughter of a maiden and Argentware." I heard a spark and quickly turned to face him. But he was already walking away. I then caught up with my friends.

My next encounter with an exchange student wouldn't come for a few more weeks. After the summer break, we returned to our fourth semester as Beacon students. And all our classes had nearly doubled in size from the incoming students.

One of those students, in my Dust Semblance class, was quite talkative. He was a second year from Mistral and liked to brag how much he knew about dust weapons. Lucky for me, he didn't take any notice to me. But he did seem a little impressed at Rah's wingsuit. He and Julius also almost got in a fight over the validity of bullets over blades. I knew Julius was more than capable of fighting his own battles. He could be so hotheaded sometimes but he was never too foolish. With that said, he did know exactly where to take a fight.

Combat class was the one place where all were treated equally. All classes from all school could sit in whenever they want. Of course, there were only a few times a week that it would be open and all students were required to attend so many times and have a minimal number of fights per semester. The day started with a girl from Atlas Academy fighting a boy from Haven. Meanwhile, another team from Haven sat right behind me. Lucky was on one side of me and Julius was on the other. Lucky said it was luck, but in hindsight I'm sure she planned it.

"So, how are things going?" The Haven kid said. He had a long face and long blonde hair the hung just past his neck. He wore a brown coat with a purple shirt underneath.

"Going alright." Lucky said.

"Eli Maru." He said putting his hand out to shake hers. "Leader of Team EMAE (emery)."

"Lucky Charm." Lucky said. "Violet, Julius, Silicon Nellie, Poppy, Ranch, Rah." She went down out row.

"Lucky Charm?" Eli said. "And those names, you wouldn't be Team LVNR, would you?"

"What's it to you?" Lucky said. "I looked back at his team. One of them had a gold studded suit, there was a dark-skinned girl wearing…next to nothing, and a boy with nappy red hair wearing a face mask. As soon as I locked eyes with the gas mask kid I heard an echoing breathing through my head.

"Heard you lot are undefeated." Eli said. "If I'm to stand a chance in the tournament I need to survey the competition. And you're odds on favorite."

"The whole damn kingdom would probably riot if you lost." The girl said. Her yellow tunic was ripped to expose her midriff, arms and most of her legs. Her necklace was made from sharp teeth and her hair looked like a couple coconuts hanging from her head.

"That's a terrible use of hyperbole Emp." Eli said. "You should be nicer." Emp rolled her eyes.

"Who'll go next?" Mr. Branwen asked.

"Yo!" Julius raised his hand.

"Mr. Season, let's find you…"

"Him." Julius pointed to the Haven student he had issues with.

"Two leaders fighting?" Eli said. "This'll be good." He looked at Lucky. "Don't hold it against me if I cheer for my schoolmate."

"Alright, do you accept?" Mr. Branwen said.

"Gladly." He put his Stetson on and vaulted over the railing then adjusted his black trench coat.

"Alright, the second match for today." Mr. Branwen said as Julius jumped over the railing. "Julius Season vs. Necros Faust. Ready?" They both nodded. "Begin."

Julius took hold of his sword and pulled it from its sheath. Necros shot his hand, causing him to drop it. Julius dodged the next few shots and grabbed his sword before advancing. He closed the gap but his swing missed. Necros hat came off and flew in Julius' face. Julius dropped a few pinches of dust as Necros aimed his gun at the hat.

"Headshot." Necros called and hit his target. Julius flew backwards from the force.

"Your guy's pretty good." Eli said.

"Cheap trick." Julius said. "Here's mine." The dust exploded, blasting Necros back. My heart fluttered as Julius was once again on him. But his progress was stopped as Necros' pistol unfolded into a rifle.

"Two for two." Necros fired. Julius activated his semblance to block the bullet. Without breaking stride Julius hit Necros with a massive upward strike. Necros dodged the next swing but was hit by Julius' heat shield. Julius punched him, slashed his head, stomped his foot, tossed him around and pinned him.

"Well…doesn't shock me." Eli shrugged. The whole, brief fight, my heart soared as I thought about how much stronger Julius has gotten.

"Guns are good…especially against Grimm." Julius taunted. "But you need have a plan for when they close that distance. Give me a sword any day."

"Noted." Necros said as he brushed himself off.

"The winner is Julius Season." Mr. Branwen said.

"Maybe next time." Necros held up a finger gun. "Bang." He smirked.

"Good job Julius." Lucky said.

"That fight was hard won." Eli said. "Necros is no pushover but…if we're talking tournament hear, he's the least of your worries." Eli pointed to Necros' behemoth of a teammate. Clad in leather with goat horns protruding from his head. "You lot may be undefeated…but so is Crimson Blaze."

 **AN: So many familiar and way younger faces. Thurston, Eli, Emp, Mantis, Crimson and of course, the one and only Necros Faust: Facilitator of my most popular story arc. The tournament officially begins next chapter.**


	11. Chapter 11

Violet Rose

 **AN: Skipping way ahead for this chapter. This will be focusing on Violet's second year and introduce (or reintroduce as it may be) some power players for the remainder of the story. And if you've been keeping stock on all my OCs from RWBYond Vale, then this is the fan-service-y chapter I've been building too.**

Chapter 11: Vytal

The sixteenth biennial Vytal Festival Tournament. A celebration of thirty-two years of peace. Over three decades of huntsmen as we know them. It's hard to explain to someone so young, but back then we didn't have Amity. We had The Pit.

The first few tournaments had a different set of rules each time. A survival challenge, a pure bracket system, a free for all, all per whoever was hosting. But for the tenth tournament a new system was set up. Teams would fight in the first round, pairs would be in the second and from there, one-on-one brackets.

The feeling that washed over me as my team stepped down there was breathtaking. It was suffocating, the cheers of two-hundred thousand spectators all cheering. Half of them cheering for me and Team LVNR a good proportion cheering for the Haven team we were faced to face with. The rest were cheering for a good fight, or were just indifferent.

My palms grew sweaty. My heart pounded like a goliath's steps. I must have been breathing heavily from all the anxiety. Lucky grabbed my shoulder to comfort me but it did little to ease the pressure. Two-hundred thousand people watching here, and countless more watching at home. The whole world was watching.

"Show them what we got." Lucky said.

The team from Haven were called JPTR (Jupiter). Their leader, Suroh Jackal, had blonde hair that was short at the sides. He held two dust infused trench knives. Pipa Solace was an odd-looking girl with dark grey eyes and magenta hair that protruded from the beanie she wore on her head. She held up two hatchets. Titania Theodora had a pair of bracers on her arms and white hair. Rounding out the team was Rhea Agne, a tall girl with red hair and blue eyes.

"Contestants are you ready?" A booming voice said over the loud speakers. I darted my eyes, the arena was massive, plenty of places to move.

"Just like we planned." Suroh said.

"Hold off a bit Vi." Lucky said. "We need to save that talent of you for later rounds." Amazing, I was so caught up in the moment but Lucky was already planning all our moves from here on in.

"Begin!" The match started. I scattered just in time to dodge a fire sweep from Suroh. Lucky knocked her sticks together to cause a sonic ring. Suroh's knives intersected with Lucky's batons. Nellie blasted him back with a wind shot. Titania constructed a sword and stood between Nellie and Suroh. Lucky rushed Suroh and the two were evenly matched. Pippa was the only one who tailed me as I sped back.

Pippa was fast but I was faster. I dodged all her incoming strikes and landed a few of my own. I didn't focus on my teammates at all. And I could tell she was doing the same. I could hear the battles. Rah's wingsuit lifted off and sprayed gunfire down on Rhea. Titania focusing in on Nellie. Suroh keeping the fight close and personal against Lucky.

"Hold still!" Pippa commanded. Her eyes flashed and I was blinded. Instinctually, a rocketed up.

"Pippa, up!" Suroh said. As my vision returned, Pippa was rocketing up thanks to some glyphs. I managed to block the attack just in time. The nature of my semblance gave me an air advantage. I came up with a plan and put it into action as soon as we touched the ground. I ducked under a swing aimed at my neck. I put my axe to the ground and sprouted a tree that knocked Pippa into the air.

I looked to my teammates. They seemed to be having some trouble. I saw an explosion hit at Rah's feet. I scattered over there and pulled him out of the worst of it. And in one fluid motion I smacked Rhea in the face with the business end of my axe, smashing her into the wall of the pit.

I heard a battle cry above me and sidestepped Pippa's assault. I swung for her head and she leaned back to dodge it. Only to be kicked in the face by Rah. Pippa took Rah's feet out from under him. With coordination brought on by years of training with Dad, I stepped on Pippa's torso and slid my blade into her side and slung her into Titania.

"Pippali Solace is down!" The announcer said. Pippa shrugged it off and started leaving the arena. Rhea charged me and I dodged it. But she was aiming for Rah the whole time. With an explosive hit, she leveled the playing field and took Rah out. Nellie was also caught in the explosion. Titania moved to finish her with a hammer construct. Nellie shot back with her semblance, turning her lower body into a horse's. Titania was kicked right into my axe. "Rah Godwin is out of the match." The announcer claimed.

Titania rolled to her feet and blocked my next attack. Rhea separated us and focused on me. As soon as I was on awkward footing, Titania switched with her to strike me. I dodged by folding into my cape. Purple rose petals flew all around as I struck them both with a spinning swing.

Nellie got up and joined me. Rhea tried another explosion and I pulled Nellie out of it. I then sprung board off her to intercept Titania before she interfered with Lucky's battle with Suroh. I jabbed Titania with the tip of my axe and she fell into Suroh right as Lucky used her semblance to create a portal. Titania and Suroh fell through and the portal ended up at the top of the stands.

"Wait, does that count?" Lucky said.

"We have a double knockout…" The announcer bellowed.

"Lucky us that totally counts!" She jumped into the air. As she landed, she fell on her face.

"In every sense of the word." The announcer laughed. "Lucky Charm is out from aura level."

"I'm. Okay!" Lucky said with her face in the dirt.

Rhea grunted as she raised her sword against Nellie. In an instant, I slammed into her gut. She slammed into the wall. She looked furious. Nellie was breathing heavily and leaning on one leg, now back in her normal form. Rhea rushed at us again. Together, we combined my blade beam with her wind shot and knocked her out.

"Rhea Agne is out. What an amazing display by Team LVNR!" The announcer yelled. All the Vale citizens, or those who bet on us, cheered with joy. "And what an amazing display by young Violet Rose, not even a scratch." He said. "She truly does live up to her local nickname. The Untouchable Violet Rose!"

And like that, victory faded from my eyes and I was once again crushed under the magnitude of expectation. I couldn't dare look up at the audience. I just gave a humble bow and left. I didn't even bother going into the stands and watching the other fights. I just walked back to my room where I could get away from all the crowds.

As soon as I crossed the threshold into safety, I felt like I could finally breathe again. I looked at my scroll and saw a few messages from my friends. Most of them were just good job remarks. Lucky sent a heartwarming text about her handling all the P.R. and for me to just focus on preparing for the double match.

"Ms. Rose." There was a knock on my door. It was Ozpin. I opened the door.

"Hello Professor." I said.

"May I come in?" He asked.

"Of course, you can." I straitened up some of the mess and pulled up a chair for him.

"Your father will be joining us shortly but…I wanted a word with you alone."

"What about?" I asked.

"That was quite the impressive display out there." He said.

"Thanks."

"I've never seen anybody manage to get through a team fight without a scratch." He said.

"I do my best. No matter who I'm fighting. You've seen my record, you know better than anyone what I'm capable of."

"True…I might even know it better than yourself. Tell me, what is your favorite fairy tale?"

"Huntsmen and the Goddess of Spring." I answered.

"I like that one too. Do you know that that's the story of your people?"

"I know all about the Argentware. There's no need to worry. I won't give up the fight against the Grimm…no matter what."

"Indeed. My favorite fairy tale was always the Four Maidens."

"My mom told me that one when I was young."

"Would you believe me if I told you that one was true as well."

"Yep." I finally looked him in the eye. "I know all about them. But I'm not one of them."

"Have you tried…"

"She has." My dad stepped in. Another sigh of relief escaped my lungs. I ran up and hugged him. "I'm so proud of you." He stroked my hair. "But we have something to discuss. Ozpin has it on the best authority that something is going awry in Mountain Glenn. He may need our help with it later. Think of it as a little Winter Break project we'll do together. Nothing to worry about now, just focus on the tournament."

"We do want to plant the thought in your head though." Ozpin said. "This may run deeper than Vale."

 **AN: Well that's freaking ominous. Thank you, Mistral Man, for letting me use your team. I hope I did their brief appearance justice. For the unimportant teams in this stretch of the series, I'm pulling from Team THRY OC and Team's Facebook page.**


	12. Chapter 12

Violet Rose

 **AN: From one fight to the next. This tournament is a lot more work than I usually do. Mostly sense I'm not creating all the teams. And with the minimal response I got on the Facebook, I'm flying by the seat of my pants.**

Chapter 12: Bring the Heat

I sat in my room, just starring up at the ceiling. Dad and Ozpin were concerned about the number of Grimm spotted around Mountain Glenn. I didn't think it was anything to be concerned about. The Grimm had been beat time and time again. They hadn't been a real threat in thirty years. That's why we had this tournament and festival. It was assurance that the Grimm weren't a threat and those who fought them were strong. I was strong.

I didn't care for the other number of fights. I certainly didn't care to go to The Pit and endure the crowd. Not with the celebrity status I had after my fight. All the news channels were talking about Untouchable Violet Rose. It was sickening. What was worse is that they didn't know anything about me. They said I was cocky, a show off…none of them understood what I had riding on me. But he did.

"Violet?" He knocked on the door. My heart skipped a beat. I looked around and made sure I was presentable. I opened the door.

"Julius…Hi." I said with a smile.

"Haven't seen you since your match." He said with a smile.

"Yeah I…you know…I…"

"Don't like crowds?" He said. I bashfully shook my head yes. "The worst part is how this crowd already reacted to me."

"Well if you weren't so absolutely amazing they wouldn't cheer for you like that. In fact, if you could tone it down a bit…a lot of us want to feel like we stand a chance."

"You know I can't do that." I flopped onto my bed.

"Can't or won't?" He sat at my side. I tucked my hands beneath my head.

"When I see, something coming my instincts kick in and I move."

"I've noticed."

"I don't think I've been touched since I came here." I felt his hand on my thigh and my face turned beat red.

"There, now you've been touched." He lifted his hand.

"In combat, you…humph." I crossed my arms over my chest indignantly.

"Well, I came here to ask if you'll come to watch my match." He said. My eyes opened and I glanced at him from the corner of my eye.

"You don't have to of course. It's just…it'll be nice to hear you cheer for me." He stood up. I laid there and watched him leave. Something overcame me. I didn't know what it was, but it took hold of my muscles. The next thing I knew I had ran to his side.

"I will…if for no other reason than your team kind of being my second team." I rationalized. I was sure that was it.

I took a seat with my team. I wore my school uniform to the arena. You'd be surprised how different you look outside of your typical cloak. I sat between Lucky and Nellie. The team Julius and Team JSPR were fighting was a team RSMR. Roxy Fujiwara had blonde hair and goggles and wielded a pair of hand propellers. Svart Nieman had red, neck-length hair and shades and wielded a pair of gauntlets. Mora Netter had wild blue hair and wielded a rifle. Olivia, despite being a girl, had a mohawk and wielded grappling hook pistols.

"Contestants are you ready?" The announcer said. "Begin!"

Mora was the first to move. She blinked away, dodging Poppy's dust attacks. Julius slid to the front of his team and blocked Mora's rifle shot. Svart intercepted him with his gauntlets. The Atlas team had spread themselves quite a bit. Mora had her back to the wall and kept firing. Olivia grappled Ranch and kicked him towards the edge of the area. Roxy joined Svart in fighting Julius. Silicon stepped in and intercepted Svart's punch.

Poppy used earth dust to form a long, shoulder-height wall separating Mora from the fight. He began manipulating that wall to keep fighting Mora. He blocked her bullets with his telekinesis semblance. Mora flashed to the top of the wall and fired down on him. He did a series of back flips to dodge the bullets. Now Mora had the high ground.

Meanwhile Ranch was not having good luck against Olivia. He was a ranged fighter but Olivia was a mid-range fighter and kept pushing and pulling him back. He managed to dodge one of her attacks and rolled around towards Julius.

Julius held his own against the odds. Silicon planted one of her plastic explosives onto Svart's gauntlets. It blew up in all four of their faces. But Julius blocked it with his heat shield. Silicon took the chance and hit Svart with a lightning blast from her ring. Svart was separated from the group now. Everything was one on one.

Team JSPR was a ranged team. Poppy and Ranch especially were much better at a distance. They would usually form around Julius and bombard the enemy in a well-maintain formation. That's what Ranch was trying to get to. He got some distance and blew a couple bubbles out of his weapon. They exploded in Olivia's face but she managed to take the hit. What she didn't see from her flinching was Ranch using his foam semblance to latch her to the ground.

Julius took a heavy hit from Roxy's semblance and fell backward. Poppy had trouble keeping up with Mora's suppressive fighter. Julius threw up his heat shield to block Roxy's attack. Ranch motioned to Silicon. Silicon threw him a bomb and he latched it onto Olivia.

"Olivia Runner is out with a bang!" The announcer said. Svart took the chance of Silicon's momentary lapse in attention to land a crippling blow. Silicon rocketed skyward from the blow and…wouldn't land for a while.

Svart ran towards Julius and blindsided him. Ranch dodged his attack and ran to help Poppy. Julius managed to land a critical strike on Roxy and ran to help them. Ranch dove in the way of a bullet and spat some foam at Mora's feet. With her stuck, Poppy lasted her with his semblance, right into Julius' waiting strike. Within seconds, she was down.

"Mora Netter is down for the count." Svart blindsided Julius again. He ignited his gauntlets to unleash flames onto the group. "Poppy Goodwitch is out of commission!" The announcer ended.

"Wow these guys are good." Lucky said.

"Come on Julius." I clutched my hands together. I opened my eyes to see Ranch catching Silicon as she plummeted to the ground.

"My hero." She said.

"And Silicon has finally landed. Sadly, her aura is in the red and she has been eliminated." The announcer called. Roxy unleashed the full power of her semblance and blasted Ranch out in a single hit. Julius stood his ground and took the punishment. His semblance coated him in a red aura that only grew stronger with the concussive wind. Roxy's attack faded but Julius' shield only grew stronger. And with a mighty thrust of his sword, he blasted Roxy with a blade beam.

She rolled onto her feet just in time to block Julius' strike. I'll bet with a smirk on his face, he stepped on her toe and pushed her to the ground. He pointed the sword to her throat, ending the battle to the cheer of the crowds. And the boos of any fan of Atlas.

"He did it!" I cheered.

"I knew he would." Lucky said. She nudged me.

"Julius Season and Team JSPR are victorious." The announcer said. Thinking about it, Ranch was probably the MVP, having managed to immobilize the opponents on numerous occasions.

"Let's go congratulate him." Lucky said.

"Huh." I saw the news crews all coming down for their post-fight interviews. "No thanks. Tell him…tell them I'll have some victory snacks ready back in the dorm.

"You're not going to watch the last two fights?" Lucky said.

"I don't think so. I was only here to watch h…them." I blushed.

"Well Julius will probably join us." Nellie said. "They all will…I hope Poppy is okay. He got hit pretty hard."

"Silicon took the biggest hit though." Rah said.

"So, what do you think of Julius?" Nellie asked me. I couldn't help but smile as I saw him smiling for the cameras.

"Less than you think, more than you know." I said cryptically.

 **AN: That fight is done, not sure if I did RSMR justice. Thank you, Antonio, from Team THRY OC and Team page for making that team. Fun fact, RSMR actually beat out Team ARRN in a tournament by poll a month or two ago. Next time we're getting two brief fights.**


	13. Chapter 13

Violet Rose

 **AN: Another battle chapter. Though, this is going to be more commentary heavy. Violet's not really invested with the two fights that are in this chapter. But I am because I love these characters.**

Chapter 13: Double Whammy

Julius sat right next to me and stretched his arms out. I smiled a little bit as he groaned from his exaggerated stretch. The arena was being reset for the next teams. I didn't really care about this fight. I didn't even know how Lucky managed to convince me to stay.

"I'm glad you came." Julius said. Oh yeah, that's why.

"You did good out there." I said with a shrug.

"Thanks…it really means a lot coming from you." He smiled. I thought it shouldn't. Why did he always have to put me on the spot like that? It was frustrating enough with all these people walking around. Speaking of which, Necros was walking towards us with a younger girl in tow.

"Nice work out there hotshot." He said making a gun with his fingers.

"Thanks, Necros." Julius said.

"High!" The girl squeaked.

"Julius…Violet, this is Veronica." Necros introduced.

"I'm Nekki's little sister." She said.

"Sister?" I said.

"Nekki?" Julius started to laugh. Necros gave Veronica a dirty glance.

"Can it." He barked. He took a seat behind us. "I didn't bring you all this way to embarrass me in front of the competition." Veronica stuck her tongue out at him.

"You're Violet Rose, aren't you?" Veronica said. My heart jumped. I put a finger to my lips.

"She doesn't like the attention." Necros explained. "I've been watching you carefully. You're a tough target to hit. You hate the attention that brings but can't bring yourself to be less than perfect." He laughed a bit.

"Lay off Havenite." Lucky said.

"Well excuse me Lucky. I was just making idle chatter." Necros tipped his hat.

"Looks like you're the last one up. Lucky, you." Lucky said.

"Me, and seven other people. It's Eli's turn right now." Necros pointed. Eli's Team EMAE were lined up. Eli stood in front and Mantis stood in back. Emp and Auric stood to the sides. Their opponents were Team DUSK of Shade. They all wore various sets of armor and were armed to the teeth with guns. Dune had an assault rifle. Uke, a koala Faunas, had a shotgun. Sam Silvers had a sniper rifle. Krypton had a grenade launcher.

"A close-range team versus a long-range team." Julius said.

"Eli got unlucky." Lucky said.

"Don't be so sure." Necros said.

"Aren't you the guy who said bullets are better than blades?" Julius said.

"A master with a pebble can slay a novice with a blade. Team EMAE are what we in Mistral call, an assassination squad."

"What's that supposed to mean?" Lucky asked. "They don't kill people do they?"

"Nothing like that." He laughed. I noted that the members of Team DUSK looked uneasy. Uke was shaking his head dizzily. "You're in for a quick match."

"Contestants are you ready?" The announcer said.

"Kill shot." Necros said. As soon as the bell rung to signal the match, Team DUSK groaned and screamed in agony. They all clutched their heads. Team EMAE wasted no time. Eli and Auric grappled Sam and Krypton. Dune tried firing but his gun wouldn't work. Emp kicked him in the face, right into Auric's arms, ready for a body slam.

"What the hell?" Lucky said.

"Language." I said.

"A psychic shriek and an E.M.P field, courtesy of Mantis and Emp respectively." Necros said. Eli wrapped his body around Uke as if he were made of rubber. Auric took some hits from Sam and Krypton. Then, with what must have been his semblance, he hit Krypton with a palm strike, turning the man's armor into heavy unwieldy gold.

The E.M.P. field lifted as Dune hit Emp across the stomach with his weapons massive knife attachments. He started firing blindly at Emp and Mantis. Mantis slid around and threw a barrage of needles at Dune. Dune managed to block them, but wasn't prepared to be hit with his own, gold-clad teammate. They both hit the ground and Emp smashed them with her tonfas.

Eli slid his knife around Uke's throat. Then he slithered around his hostage and threw his knife into Sam's chest. Sam was stunned and Auric sliced him with an iron-brimmed hat. Eli twisted his arm around Uke's throat. Uke struggled, but Eli's body was completely elastic. Uke wasn't getting out of it on his own. And he didn't.

"Uke Liptis has passed out from the choke hold." The announcer said. "Sam Silvers is out from aura level. Dune Megiddo is out from aura level. Krypton Chief has been knocked out. Team EMAE is victorious in a fantastic display of skill."

"Team DUSK were mismatched." Necros said. "Even if you had two of each of those guys it would be the same. Those weapons and powers are no match for what EMAE bring to the table." Necros stood up.

"Knock them dead." Veronica cheered.

"I will…there and back again." Necros jumped into the arena. He was soon joined by his team, Team NCRP. Polis Nikos was the youngest daughter of a great general from the war. She had classic Mistral Spartan armor and a massive lance tipped in earth dust. Rib Russo had blonde hair down to her neck and wire loose fitting robes the accentuated her curves and left little to the imagination. Not that anyone could focus on that with her massive triple-bladed scythe.

They were up against Team MOJT (magenta). Madeline Heartfelt had curly brown hair and an elaborate dress and held an axe with a blade in the shape of a heart. Oscar Cheshire wore a nice suit and had a chain whip. Jervis Clog was a short man with a green suit and a top hat. Talc Whiterun was a rabbit Faunas, and the only Faunas in the Atlas lineup.

"Contestants are you ready?" The announcer called. "Begin."

Crimson's body caught fire. Polis lifted her arms, causing Madeline and Oscar's weapons to shoot towards the air. Rib leaped up with a cackle. Crimson flared his semblance to hurl a fire ball at the ground. Jervis blocked it with a green glyph. Necros whipped out his pistol and shot Oscar in the chest. Rib slammed down on Madeline. Madeline blocked the triple-scythe with her axe.

Crimson slammed into Madeline, taking her to the ground. Jervis pulled out a stop watch. In a series of green blurs, he wrapped the watch around Crimson, setting him up a massive strike from Madeline. Necros shot at team MOJT with a quick succession of bullets. Jervis was the only one who managed to dodge it.

"Hey, this Jervis guy's semblance is like yours." Julius said to Lucky.

"No…it's not." Lucky was focused in on the man from Mantle. "Mine manipulates space."

"And his doesn't?" Julius said. Crimson unleashed a combination of punches down at the man who was only a fraction of his size. Jervis zipped around it, seemingly without breaking a sweat.

"No, it doesn't." Lucky affirmed.

"Nekki told me about him." Veronica said. "He's older than the others. Apparently, he's old enough to be a fourth year but joined Atlas this year on a whim."

"How would Necros know?" Julius asked.

"He does that, he's always looking into people who interest him." She sighed. "Makes it really hard to have a boyfriend.

"Boyfriend, you're like twelve."

"Rib Russo has been knocked out." The announcer said.

"I can still date…" She crossed her arms. "I Nekki didn't scare all the boys off."

Getting back to the fight, Talc was holding her own against Polis and doing very well. Rib stepped in front of Madeline's 'execution wave' semblance. Rib activated her own. All the damage it did to her was also done to Madeline. They both flew up into the air and Necros shot Madeline, finishing her.

"Madeline Heartfelt is finished." The announcer said. Oscar stabbed at Rib, hitting her in the stomach. "And Rib's aura has dropped into the red, she is finished. Necros engaged Oscar on a more personal basis. He bobbed and weaved around Oscar's mid-range offensive and landed a few shots of his own. Polis smacked Talc with her shield and threw her spear at Oscar, hitting him in the back. As he stumbled, Necros got a headshot in.

"Go Nekki!" Veronica cheered.

"Oscar Cheshire is out of the match." The announcer bellowed. Necros turned and fired on Talc, right as she was about to take advantage of Polis' back turned. Talc forfeited the attack and was on the back pedal. Meanwhile Crimson was finally able to get ahold of Jervis. He grabbed the midget by the throat and slammed him into the wall. Then, with a massive fire charged punch, knocked him out.

"He's going to feel that in the morning." Julius said.

"Jervis Clog is out of the match." A gunshot later and Talc was on the ground with three-quarters of Team NCRP on top of her. "So is Talc Whiterun. Team NCRP is victorious."

"YEAH!" Veronica cheered.

"Well that's it for today." Julius said. "Whose going in for you guys?" Julius asked.

"Violet and myself obviously." Lucky said. "And you?"

"Me and Poppy are representing Team JSPR." Julius said.

"Necros will probably have Crimson and himself." Veronica said as she stood up. "It was nice meeting you all." She said.

"It was lucky meeting you." Lucky said.

"Oh, one more thing." She pulled out a Vytal Festival tournament poster. "Will you sign this for me?" She put the poster in front of me.

"W…why me?" I said.

"Uh, because you're the Untouchable Violet Rose. I want to get everyone who is going to be in the single matches to sign it. Might as well get a jump start on it. Am I right?"

"What if I lose? Or if Lucky decides to go ahead?" I reasoned.

"Hmm, can't happen won't happen. Nekki says that you're a warrior who won't let other people fight battles that you can." She said with a smile. She gave me the poster and marker. "Even so…can you please sign this." I thought for a minute. I'd never signed anything before.

"Sure." I said. Th look on her face as it lit up was priceless. And for a second, I thought I could get used to this kind of attention.

 **AN: That ends the team fights for this story. Team DUSK and Team MOJT were scrapped team ideas from my original outline that eventually became RWBYond Vale. Plus, I mixed in Jervis Clog in there for some extra world building. Next time, is actually the only chapter I have for the doubles fights.**


	14. Chapter 14

Violet Rose

 **AN: We're over half way through this story and man, has it been, interesting. Thank you everyone who is reading this. You're undoubtedly fans of my work, the ones who like seeing what I think up. I haven't been all too proud of this story, but I don't think I'll make something as good as RWBYond War for a long time. So thank you readers, I do all this for you.**

Chapter 14: Tag Team

Lucky and I stepped into the stands. Our fight was coming up next, but we arrived early. The previous fight was still going on. I had only seen one of the double matches thus far and that was Julius and Poppy's. It was much more one sided than the team match that proceeded it. This one also looked one sided. Ambrose and Rhud were fighting a pair from Haven. Ambrose grabbed the blue hair girl's face and his arm lit up with red lightning.

"Teal Azul is out by knockout. The boys from Team AMBR win in yet another amazing display of power from young Ambrose Thurston." The crowd began cheering, most of them anyway.

"Ouch." Lucky said. "I would not want to be on the business end of that semblance." She looked at me.

"What?" I asked.

"Lucky or unlucky…the two of you probably will fight." She said.

"Let's just focus on the tax at hand." I said. We made our way down the pit as the announcer declared the next match.

"Now, may I introduce the Untouchable Violet Rose and her squad leader Lucky Charm from Team LVNR.! The announcer yelled to thunderous applause that shook me to my core. "And their opponents…the King of the Iron Fist, Charon Minos and his captain, Lance Leone of Team LANC."

Charon waved to the crowd, soaking up the attention. He was a tall man with massive gauntlets in the shape of lion heads. Lance seemed much more calm. His spear was twice the size of his body. He wore grieves over his legs and had tight fitting pants. His chest was bare, save for a red cape. What they say about Vacuo clothing is true.

"They say you're untouchable." Lance bellowed. "But the spear of destiny always finds its target." He held up his weapon.

"Begin." The announcer said. I instantly dodged Charon's ground pound and Lucky spun into him. Lance tried stabbing at me while I was in the air, but I spun my body to avoid it. He grunted in frustration as he kept stabbing at me. A thought crossed my mind, in that there was no way he would hit me. The wind up on his thrusts was so slow that Nellie would be able to easily avoid it. I lamented a little, not having watched the previous fights, I had no clue what he was capable of.

Lucky apparently did. She smirked and laughed as Charon tried blasting her with sonic hand blasts. Charon could focus the sonic waves from his punch's speed and throw that as an attack. That was his semblance and the maws of his gauntlets enhanced that. But Lucky dodged them with her portals and countered them with sonic pings of her own.

Lance changed tactics, forcing me to focus on him. He swept his spear around and swiped the air. This attack pattern, though predictable, was much faster. I jumped onto the spear and without any hesitation, cracked him on the head with my axe. I twisted around with my semblance to dodge his counter and landed a blow on his leg.

Charon jumped over him to land a ground pound on me. I stared the fist down as it came inches from my face, and in a scatter of petals I vanished. I practically flew across the ground to avoid the shockwaves. Lucky was huffing on the other side of the arena. I guess her semblance kicked her to the side of the Pit. Unlucky her I guess. I flew over to her. Lance and Charon were rushing for us.

"I think we should switch." She said. "I don't have what it takes to land a dent in that guy."

"And speed doesn't seem to be an issue for us." I said.

"Wait, I have an idea. You know how you slam into people with your axe?" I shook my head. "Do that to me."

"Are you…?"

"Just do it." I grabbed her and blasted off with my semblance. I saw the move barely register on their faces as we slammed into them. We broke apart. Lucky slammed her batons into Lance's unarmored chest. I slammed my axe into Charon's right arm. All four of us tumbled down.

"Damn it!" Charon cursed.

"Bad idea." Lucky said as she stood up dazedly. She was hit by Lance's spear two times before she recomposed herself. I slammed my axe into Charon's head then switched to target his left arm, but it was blocked.

"I have you now." The maw of his gauntlet bit down on my axe. He punched down at me but I let go of my weapon and evaded. He snarled in frustration as he continued to try punching me. His hand speed was impressive, more impressive than Lance's stabs. But there was no way he was touching me.

I grabbed the handle of my weapon and activated the dust crystal inside it. It was in a much better position than my maiden powers at this point. Vines sprouted and took every nook and cranny in the weapon, effectively breaking it. I pulled the axe out as it's sound amplifier backfired. As Charon backed up in pain I spun my axe around. I cyclone around his body hitting him hundreds of times in the span of a few seconds. I moved so fast that it created a tornado that lifted us off the ground. Then I slammed him back down.

That's when I heard it. He slammed his fist to the ground and I was suddenly in a torrent of sound waves. I could have outrun them had I could see them. They didn't affect my aura, and I doubt anyone watching could see what was happening. But I felt dizzy, dazed, everything was going blurry. I was stricken with double vision.

My instincts kicked in in time for me to see the spear. It looked like ten but I knew there was only one. Instead of dodging one of them, I dodged them all. As I did it, I slid my axe on the ground to create a tree. The tree slammed into Charon and caught the spear. My vision returned to normal in time to dodge Lance's follow up strike.

My vision seemed weird. Things happened a lot slower. My heart was racing and my head was throbbing. My…it was at that moment, when I batted the spear away that I realized the familiar feeling. My eyes were glowing white, white with the power of the Argentware.

"Charon Minos is knocked out." The announcer said.

"How are you still dodging?" Lance grunted. "You should be half blind right now!" Was that it? I think so. Whatever second sight abilities come with Argentware power had overridden my double vision. Maybe it was the sonic waves bouncing in my head that allowed me to so casually tap into the power that usually took everything out of me.

Then again, this was a more subtle form. It wasn't the radiant all-encompassing blast that I experienced with Shadow. It was subtle, controlled, like my dad's version. In other words, there were no maiden powers pushing it to its limits. My heart felt a string of relief at that. My secret was safe…as much as it could be from those it mattered to. Oh, I should probably finish this fight. So I did as Lucky kicked him in the head and I swatted his face with my axe.

"Lance Leone is defeated. Lucky Charm and Violet Rose win." The announcer says.

"Well that was fun." Lucky said. "Sonic waves and the ability to control a weapon without touching it, lucky us we're pretty awesome."

"Oh, I didn't even see his semblance." I said.

"And ladies and gentlemen, Violet Rose is still indeed…Untouchable." The announcer said.

"Way to paint an even bigger target on you." Lucky said. "You know, if you don't want to, you don't have to move on."

"I do want to move on…the pressure of perfection is not as great as the ridicule I'd suffer should I forfeit." I affirmed.

"Alright." Lucky said. We walked out of the arena and out of the colosseum. We made our way to meet up with our friends for a victory lunch. We arrived there to the greetings and congratulations of our friends.

"Violet, what was that towards the end?" Julius asked.

"What do you mean?" I asked. My heart began racing. Whether it was from the proximity of his face or the question he asked I don't know.

"Your eyes. The monitors didn't pick it up and I don't think anyone past the third row could see it. But your eyes were glowing white." Julius explained.

"Old family secret I'm afraid." My dad said from behind me. I turned to face him.

"I'm proud of you." He put a hand on my shoulder. "I doubt I'd had fared better." He kissed the top of my head, causing me to blush with embarrassment. "So, are you going to introduce me to your friends?"

 **AN: So close. Oh well, next time, the interesting fights start. It's the one-on-one brackets. Things are going to get interesting. I hope you enjoyed the fight. Team LANC is a scrapped team from my original tournament arc. Lance himself was going to be a foil and rival for Pyrrha, then with Pyrrha's death they served no purpose so they were cut.**


	15. Chapter 15

Violet Rose

 **AN: Now to get into what I've wanted to do since I first came up with this character. I've said before that this was originally going to be about 10 chapters of STRQ: Tales of the Old Huntsmen and cut in between the STRQ stuff and the Great War stuff. But this part, with the tournament, made it too bloated to fit in that story and I decided it would be better to have it in its own separate story (same thing happened with RWBYond Hope).**

Chapter 15: Close Call

The brackets were set. Two people from each school were left. Julius and I would be representing Beacon. Mantis and Crimson were representing Haven. Two people I had never seen before were representing Atlas. Ambrose and some guy wrapped head to toe in white cloth were representing Shade.

The night started with a ceremony. Previous winners of the tournament were honored. The governor of Vale gave a speech about the last two years of prosperity, which half of it was bragging about Mountain Glenn. Professor Ozpin had a big speech about exceptionalism and how the purpose of the competition is to assure that the guardians of Remnant never settle for mediocrity.

Then everyone drew numbers to be set in the bracket. From there, fights would be put in a random order. First up was Null Mu of Shade versus Retina Wood of Atlas. I thought about going to the fairgrounds until my match was called. But Dad wanted me to sit in the VIP box with the academy founders. Ozpin was there, as well as Mr. Branwen. There were a pair of impeccably dressed people with white hair and their son, who looked to be a few years older than me. There was also a woman with long blonde hair and a yellow jacket. A older bald man wearing a Mistral officer outfit stood against the wall. Lastly, there were a pair of old men who looked weary from war. One of them I recognized as Arthur Arc. The other I recognized, but the name escaped me.

"A pleasure that you could join us." He said as he stood to greet us. His purple eyes were cold and faded.

"It's been a while since so many of us have been in the same place." The blonde girl said.

"That's because Raymond has been a recluse." The white-haired woman said as she stood. She gave my dad and I a polite curtsy. "It's a pleasure to finally meet you Violet Rose." She said. "Your mother was a dear friend of mine."

"She was all of our friend." The blonde said.

"Ah but May, you only knew her as a hero." The woman countered. "I knew her as a sniveling little girl who just wanted the war to stop." She looked at me with a smile. "My name is Elsa Schnee." She turned to present her partner. "This is my husband, Jackson."

"Schnee?" I recognized the name of the famous family. "It's a pleasure to meet you." I said.

"Raymond…" She started. "Does she know about…" She started twiddling her fingers, creating snow with them.

"She knows about the Maidens." Dad said. "But she isn't one." He lied.

"But will still be an important piece is the fight." Ozpin said.

"What fight?" I asked.

"The only fight worth fighting." Mr. Arc trailed off. "The fight against the Grimm."

"Oh…" I sighed in relief. Nothing new then.

"Well I'm glad." Elsa said. "Your mother never wanted the burden of maidenhood on her daughter. You probably have enough pressure on you as it is." I shook my head yes. I took a seat between Elsa and my dad. Mr. Schnee sat at her side and their son, Eiess, sat next to him.

"Mr. Mordred." Eiess said. "This Null Mu is one of yours, right?"

"He's a natural leader driven to protect his people. Should something happen to Renton, he would make an excellent headmaster someday." Allister Mordred, the man who once struck fear in the heart of Vale's forces said coldly.

"Speaking of Renton, his and Amber's son is in the tournament too." Elsa said.

"That he is." Mordred said.

"Begin!" The announcer said. I looked down at the match. Null disappeared. Retina looked around. When she couldn't spot him, she put her hands together. A tangle of trees wrapped around her and formed a golem.

"What an impressive use of dust." Mr. Branwen said.

"That's not dust." Mr. Schnee said.

"That is Retina's semblance." Eiess noted. "She's able to form wooden constructs."

"Wait, I thought only the Glens family could influence life." I said.

"It's why I made sure you knew about the Maidens." Elsa said. "Descendants of Spring, any Spring Maiden, have the potential to create life with a semblance. Even your father and yourself can create rose petals in your wake. That is because you are descended from the original Spring."

"Ah." I said.

"Retina's constructs aren't alive though." Mr. Schnee said. "No more than a wooden house is still a living organism." Null reappeared above and behind her and blasted the golem with a white beam of energy.

"Hah." May said. "Textbook of what Null does." Retina rebound and created a wooden shield.

"General Ebony and Damian have taught her how to use a multitude of weapons. She uses her semblance to make them and uses her aura to maintain them." Jackson bragged.

"Semblance based weapons are a tricky thing." Mr. Arc said.

"Coming from Mr. I dropped my sword, here, let me just create a giant canon from my semblance." Elsa mocked.

"It is precisely because that is my semblance that I can say that with authority." Mr. Arc said. Null popped back in and bombarded Retina. Retina sliced through the blast and jumped towards him. He dodged her strike and blasted her point blank with his weapon.

"Retina Wood is out by knockout." The announcer said.

"That was quick." Dad said.

"Like I said, she taxed her aura trying to seal a quick victory with that golem." Mr. Arc said.

"Plus, Null's weapon is a condensed white dust amplifier prism." May said. "Even in the hands of a novice it can punch holes in a goliath."

"A taxing weapon in its own right." Mordred said. "But Null has more than enough aura to compensate for it."

"If you're strong, you're welcome." Mr. Branwen said. "Vacuo never changes does it."

"Now for our next fight, Sol Machine versus Violet Rose." The announcer claimed.

"Good luck." Elsa said. "Sol is also from Atlas so don't think I'll be giving any pointers."

"Looks like this is it for Atlas." Dad bragged. All three Schnees shrugged.

"It wasn't a banner year." Mr. Schnee said. "Retina and Sol both only got in on the skin of their teeth."

I walked down to the arena. My opponent, Sol, was a boy with short blonde hair and goggles. On his back a some kind of container. He looked at me with intensity in his eyes. I flipped my hood up, failing to drown out the roars of the crowd.

"I have lived my entire life attempting to improve myself." Sol said. "Defeating you will prove just how much stronger I have become." He set the case down.

"Contestants are you ready?" The announcer said.

"And without my team to get in the way…I can fight to my fullest."

"Begin!"

His arms turned black with green highlights running down them. The same pattern carried over to the box. The box split up and covered parts of his body. His hands were covered in robotic gloves with dust crystals in their palms. Tesla coils and bionics covered his arms and legs. His shoulders were covered with small missile silos. The silos opened and six rockets were fired towards me.

I ran away from the explosives and flanked to his right. I swung my axe but it bounced off an invisible field as he slammed his hand to the ground. As I twirled in the air, he spun and put his wrists together. A massive beam of energy came out. I slammed my axe to the ground and jumped off it.

"Incinerate." He said. I was forced to forgo my weapon just to avoid the blast. A quarter of the arena became charred and smoldered. I flew behind him and kicked him in the head. He flipped around and drug his hand along the ground to stop himself. The ground became charred wherever his hand laid.

He popped his neck. Lightning coursed from his fingertips. He reached behind himself. Both his hands and his legs ignited with rocket boost. He threw a punch at my face as soon as he was in range. The armaments on his arm folded out, expanding his fist.

I managed to dodge and run away. He fired a grappling hook that hit the wall in front of me. He pulled himself around, skating around the arena. Machine gun blasts fired from his other wrist. I ran along the wall of the pit and boosted above the arena. He rocketed towards me with a rocket powered punch. I twisted in mid-air and planted my feet to his chest as he passed.

I kicked myself downward towards my weapon. I could hear his weapons firing down on me. It was a similar white beam as Null's. Come to think of it, Retina was able to counter it for a short time. Maybe it was because of Sol that she was able to counter it so quickly. Maybe I could do the same.

I reached my axe and channeled my powers through it. I created a powerful wooden dome around myself. I heard the bombs and blast coat the arena and turn the pit into a glass floor. My little patch was the only one left unscathed by the scorched earth approach.

As the smoke faded I came up with a plan. I made sure I was unseen as I used my maiden powers to burn my own shield. Sol landed to the ground. The green lights along his arm blinked as the augmentations fell off. He seemed pleased with my state. There was still plenty of smoke so there was no way he could see that I was still at full aura. As soon as he blinked, I struck. I hit him with the blade of my axe and he smashed against the wall.

"It looks like Violet Rose lives up to her reputation." The announcer said.

"HOW?" Sol said but it was too late. In seconds, I practically dismantled him. All the enhancements that coated his body had been drained from use. His ace move hadn't worked. He managed to block one of my attacks but I merely twisted my body to hit him with a back swing. He fired another incineration blast but I batted it away and stabbed him. I finished him by hitting his leg and pulling up to trip him.

"Violet Rose is victorious!" The announcer said. Anyone hoping for Atlas to go further booed but everyone else cheered.

"It's thanks to your schoolmate." I said. "I used a wooden shield to block your big attack." It felt good to admit how close he had come to landing a blow.

"But I didn't even manage to touch you." He lamented.

"So many powerful people have failed in that these last two years. But you are without a doubt the strongest person I've fought so far." I gestured around. "I doubt any other contestant is able to achieve this level of destruction."

"Thank you." He said. "I know what I have to do to get stronger now."

"Good to hear…I wish I could say the same."

 **AN: So many returning characters! One thing I'm sad that I wasn't able to do is give the Old Huntsmen some time and dialogue to just bounce off each other. So, you'll be seeing quite a bit of them in the next few chapters. Sol is based on Genos from One Punch Man (originally, he was going to be the guy from Deus Ex, but I know more about Genos). Retina is based on the Senju clan from Naruto and Null Mu had a pretty good appearance in RWBYond Vale, alongside Allister Mordred. Also, longest chapter in this story.**


	16. Chapter 16

Violet Rose

 **AN: These last few days have been rough for me. Between work, school, writing, video editing and personal life, I feel like I've had no time. I know I can take a break anytime but I don't want to. I would rather keep these chapters coming than to take off from it. I just can't wait for this semester to be over. There may be a few days where you get multiple things a day for a while. We'll see.**

Chapter 16: I Am Lightning, I Am Fire

I made my way back to the VIP box after my victory. Due to Sol's explosive abilities, it took a while for the arena to be prepared for the next fight. I stepped through the door. The Schnees looked to be packing their things. There was also someone there who wasn't there before. I recognized her. She wore the same long yellow coat she did back then. The lion mask was strapped to her side. Her brown hair was greying at the roots.

"Congratulations Violet Rose." She said.

"You are…" I tried putting a name to the face.

"Amber Thurston." She said.

"That's right." I said. "You're Ambrose's mother."

"That I am." She said. "I have been watching his matches. I have also watched yours."

"Why weren't you here before?" I asked.

"There's…some bad blood between some of us." Her green eyes darted towards Mordred for an instant.

"Well it was nice seeing you again." Elsa said as she gave Amber a hug. "It was also a pleasure meeting you." She patted my head.

"You're leaving?" I asked.

"Atlas is out of the competition." Mr. Schnee said. "There's no use dilly dallying around here anymore."

"Well, if you ever find yourself in Atlas, feel free to give me a ring." Elsa said with a smile as the three of them walked out.

"Nice to see she hasn't changed." Amber said.

"You were all friends, right?" I asked. "The two of you and my mom…"

"That is mostly correct. We were more like sisters. Ozpin tried to train and protect us maidens. He kept us out of the war and away from our families to be used for his own crusade."

"That's not entirely true." Ozpin defended.

"It is and you know it. You can deny and regret it all you want. But it wasn't until we were divided that we were able to find out who we really were." She eyed my father. "All four of us found people who truly care about us. And after that we used our powers to protect the world in whatever way we saw fit."

"Running around for Him and working for his ambition…you call that protecting the world?" Ozpin argued.

"I will not have this debate with you again Ozpin. While you sit in your emerald tower playing chess matches with a witch you could have done away with millennia ago; we Arbiters are expanding the knowledge and understanding of this world and all others connected to it." Ozpin sighed in recognition.

"We all have a part to play." He said. "I just hope you keep in mind what yours is."

"I have." She turned back towards the arena.

The fight between Ambrose and Mantis began with the latter waving his arms. Ambrose flinched and backed away. Then, his hand crackled and unleashed a wave of lightning from his palm that tore through the ground. Mantis ran along the edge and threw needles at Ambrose.

"Mantis is quite the mental power house." The bald man from earlier stood behind me as I sat between Dad and Amber.

"Anything you can tell us Orion?" Dad said.

"Not really, I'm not so familiar with Team EMAE and how they do things." He nudged my shoulder. "We never got a chance to properly introduce ourselves. I'm Orion Nikos."

"Nikos? You wouldn't be familiar with Polis, would you?" I asked.

"She's my youngest Orion said. "I'm here mostly for her but, she didn't move on after the first round."

"Oh." I turned back to see Mantis kicking Ambrose to the ground. Ambrose grabbed a rock and threw it at him and it exploded in his face. Ambrose got ahold of Mantis and slammed him to the ground.

"From what I've seen though, Eli should have been the one to carry on." Orion said. "Mantis just isn't much for close fights. I'm sure Eli had something up his sleeve." Ambrose was getting more frustrated as Mantis avoided his attacks.

"Mantis is a psychic." Amber said. "Phil found him, didn't he?"

"Yeah he did. Mantis was the only one left. I take it Phillip kept tabs with you."

"He may no longer hold the mantra of Kraken, but he was an Arbiter and those ties are hard to cut." Amber explained.

"Arbiter?" I said.

"Nothing to concern yourself with." Amber said. "You'll undoubtedly learn at more appropriate times."

Mantis back handed Ambrose, but Ambrose caught his arm. His hand sparked with lightning but before it could do anything significant, Mantis kicked his chin. Ambrose landed on his back and rolled out of the way as Mantis tried stomping his face. Ambrose was noticeably distraught. His moves were sloppy and inefficient. He was blasting red lightning in every direction.

"Wait if he's a psychic then that means…" I started.

"It's a battle of wills." Orion said. "Mantis is trying to break him mentally and spiritually. Who knows what Mantis is making him see." I swallowed, wondering what would happen if I had to face him. I was hyper aware of all my faults and could only imagine how easy it would be for someone like Mantis to exploit them. Maybe that's what Eli was thinking. Just like Lucky, always thinking three steps ahead.

"Ambrose on the other hand breaks people physically." Amber said. "His semblance is a stunning opposite to mine. My semblance is to fuse things together, his is to tear them apart."

"You've certainly taught him well." Dad said as Ambrose landed a heavy punch to Mantis' stomach.

"I had little to do with it." Amber chided. Ambrose closed his eyes. "That's right son, breathe nice slow breaths." Ambrose changed stances to a more defensive one. "Your eyes can deceive you, don't trust them." She looked back at Dad. "Renton is the one who trained him." A warm smile crossed her face.

Mantis threw another volley of needles at Ambrose. Ambrose easily dodged and launched like a springboard. He hit Mantis in the throat and grabbed his mask. His hand pulsed with power as he tightened his grip.

"Amazing what a calm mind can achieve." Mordred noted.

"It's over." Amber said. Power erupted from Ambrose's grip as he blasted Mantis and sealed victory. "Well then, it looks as if you'll be fighting Ambrose tomorrow." Amber said. I swallowed again. Ambrose has had it out for me since the first day we met.

But I didn't have a lot of time to think about that. The next fight was between Julius and Crimson Blaze. I tried to keep an air of coolness around all these legends. But as soon as his dopy smile flashed across the monitors, I couldn't help but laugh.

"Friend of yours?" Orion said.

"Yeah." I sighed. Amber laughed a bit. "What?"

"Nothing." She said.

"Crimson is no push over. My daughter has told me stories about him. We may finally have our first Faunas champion from Mistral."

"He's got a long way to go before we can crown him." Ozpin said.

"No offense Oz but I've seen this kid fight. There's no way he can stand up to Crimson."

"You're wrong." I said. "Julius is strong…stronger than you know. He doesn't back down and he never gives up. When the chips are down, he always finds a way to get back on top." Amber snickered and Dad sighed.

"I must agree with Ms. Rose." Mr. Arc cut in. "Julius is one of mine." He looked towards Orion. "And discounting ANY of my students is to tempt the fates. You of all people know that Orion."

"You want to make it a competition?" Orion said. "Fine…fifty lien says that Crimson paints The Pit with this kid."

The fight began with Julius' blade colliding with Crimson's fist. Julius put up his heat shield as he blocked the barrage of blows. He spun around to hack at Crimson and sliced into his chest. He backed away, swatting away fireballs as he did. Crimson tried tackling him but he stood firm. Julius struggled against Crimson's pushing force as his feet slid backwards.

"Come on Julius." I prayed.

Julius was pushed back. He swung his arm around with a blade beam that his Crimson from shoulder to opposite hip. Crimson tried punching his head but Julius managed to sidestep it. Julius hit Crimson with the butt of his weapon and stabbed him in the leg.

"This looked to be a fight of power as opposed to speed or skill like the other fights." Dad noted.

Julius sword collided with Crimson's fists in a stunning display of speed and power. Crimson overstepped on a punch and Julius capitalized. He landed a series of powerful strikes up and down Crimson's body. Crimson spun around to counter but Julius ducked under it and cut him some more.

"Your little boyfriend is good." Amber said.

"I know right." I said quietly. "Wait, what?" I wouldn't admit it at that time, but I'll admit now that I was somewhat infatuated with Julius. But it would still be a while before I saw it…or cared for that feeling.

Julius ignited with a burning flame. His sword caught fire and his heat shield radiated. The shield blocked Crimson's attack. Julius swung down on the Faunas' head with a blow that shook The Pit. The heat from the two fire wielders blasted upward, all the way into the VIP box.

Julius was on the offensive after that. Crimson had staggered from the strike. Julius was capitalizing on every little thing wrong with Crimson's fighting style. He cut into the larger man's hands. He stabbed into his bad footing. He sliced into his exposed torso. He ended with a strike to the head.

"Julius Season is victorious!" The announcer called.

"Yes!" I cheered.

"Damn." Orion said. "Atlas and Haven knocked out of the first round."

"No surprise that Shade carried on as they did." Amber said. "I'm impressed by these Beacon kids though. You've done a good job this year Oz."

"I, like you…constantly strive for the best." He said. "I encourage all my students to fight to their fullest potential." I nodded in agreement.

"I'm going to congratulate him." I said as I sprinted out of the door.

 **AN: That's it for this chapter. The tournament is wrapping up here in a few chapters. Next time is going to be my favorite. Fair warning though, I'm busy all day tomorrow so it might not come out until late at night. But I'll try to have it done before I go to bed tonight so I don't have to worry.**


	17. Chapter 17

Violet Rose

 **AN: I don't know how long this chapter is going to be. I want it to be just one fight this time, and it's a fight I've been excited for. I'm still just figuring out the details as I go. So, the moment I have been waiting for.**

Chapter 17: Racing Thunder

It was night two of the final brackets. The stadium was noticeably less packed. Atlas and Haven being taken out of the competition the previous night had a lot to do with it. Yet, the cheer of the crowd was still stifling. As I walked down to take my place at one end of the pit, I had to close my eyes and count my breath. Just two more fights. I had to tell myself that I had just two more fights.

"I told you we would meet on this battlefield." Ambrose said. His green eyes drilled holes through me. I don't know how I looked to him. But to me, he looked content, and excited.

"We don't choose who we get to fight." I retorted.

"Not always. I've watched all your fights. I knew, from the moment I first saw your silver eyes that YOU, would be the one to give me a challenge. To push me like I've never been pushed before."

"Well, sorry to disappoint." I readied my weapon.

"Don't doubt your abilities." He said. "The match hasn't even begun yet. Win or lose, after today you will no longer be Untouchable." I swallowed as he stooped down into his combat stance.

"Begin!" The announcer started the match.

Ambrose wasted no time. His arms sparked with his dismantle semblance. He zigzagged towards me, creating narrow trenches as he dragged his hand along the ground. I strafed to the side to dodge his palm strike. He ripped his other hand from the ground, ripping chunks of earth up and throwing it into my face.

I dove backwards to the ground and rolled over my shoulder as the bits of rubble exploded. His sparking hand came down at me but I managed to spin out of the way. His hand blasted the ground creating a massive smokescreen.

I stayed moving. I ran along the edge of the ring, keeping my speed uneven as I sprinted. I heard the sparks coming from my left so I switched directions to avoid it before it intercepted me. As soon as I had changed directions, Ambrose fist was waiting for me. I stopped just in time to avoid the punch. It was so close that I felt the wind from it go up my nose. His hand sparked again. I bent my legs in anticipation. As his hand tried swiping me I kicked backwards. The tip of his finger touched part of my hood.

I launched from the awkward angle into a spiral. I used my own momentum to lift myself upwards and ridding the arena of the smokescreen. As soon as I twisted in the air to look at the arena I had to twist again to dodge a lightning bolt. Ambrose was snapping his fingers, coursing dust through his accessories in conjuncture with his semblance to create bolts.

Well two could play at that game. I fell through the air, dodging lightning bolts as I plummeted. I hit the ground running, sprinting at various angles as I created as many rose petals as I possibly could. Ambrose eyes were tracking me the whole time. I finally made a break for him. He quickly extended his arms, creating an aura shield, fueled by his semblance, all around him. I stopped short of the barrier then with a thrust of my hand, sent all the rose petals at him. Had my father tried this it wouldn't be affective. But I channeled some of my powers into these petals to make them sharp as razors.

"What an amazing display from both our competitors." The announcer said as the petals slammed into Ambrose. He was knocked into a wall. I needed to catch my breath but couldn't afford to waste this chance.

I lunged forward with my axe and bashed him. His hands sparked as he went on the defensive. I hacked away at him but he was blocking my strikes with strikes of his own. I used my semblance to outpace him but he was fast enough where it counted.

The palm of his hand hissed as it hit the dust crystal in my axe. There was a blast of energy as the forces collided. I pushed with my aura to counter his attack. My feet dug into the ground as I pushed forward. He followed suit and grunted. It was at that point that I knew, brute strength was useless against him. I had to think of something.

I stomped my foot to the ground and created a bush that pushed up on his feet. He stumbled and I hit him in the head. As he rolled around the ground to recover, I scattered behind him and hit him again. Now I was on the offensive. I bounced him around like a pinball. Sweat clouded my vision and every fiber of my body burned. In hindsight, it was a dumb move to push my body like that. But I had to win, I had to do more than win. I had to land every blow. I had to stick every dodge. I couldn't afford to show weakness. Not with so many people watching.

Then I stumbled. My legs gave out and I collided into Ambrose's stomach with my head. I heard his hands sparking and moved. I avoided the hit just in time. But my cloak can't say the same. He grabbed my cape and pulsed his semblance. His fingers dug in and tore through the shroud. I tried using my semblance but nothing happened. He swung at my head and I had to dodge with my own ability.

I once again felt the wind of the blow pass my face. It knocked my hood down and my violet hair was splayed in the wind. I could see another punch coming. My eyes glowed white as I overexerted whatever power I could. I took that dwindling power and smashed my axe into Ambrose's chest.

"Ambrose Thurston has been eliminated." The announcer said. "Untouchable Violet Rose emerges victorious in another thrilling display of power."

"Damn it!" Ambrose punched the ground. "Not even a scratch."

"Ambrose…" I looked to my cape and hood. It was so like the green one my mother had worn. I, didn't think I had any emotional connection to it. It was made for me sure, but I payed a lot of allowance money to have it. But now with it torn and tattered, there was no cowl to protect my features from the scathing, roaring eyes above. There was nowhere to hide and I couldn't summon the strength to run. I was exposed to the world.

I stumbled into a locker room. I took off my combat attire and put on my uniform. I sat in the empty hallway. It was so much quieter and more peaceful than the outside. I took my tattered cape and pressed it to my chest. I curled up into a ball. My hands gripped my shins and my chin rested on my thighs as my forehead melded with my knees.

"Just one more match." I whispered. "Just one more match."

"It'll never be just one more match." A voice that made my heart skip said. "Will it?" I looked up to see Julius, armor clad and ready for battle.

"I don't think so." I admitted. He sat down next to me.

"I asked Lucky and your dad to speak with you alone."

"Why did you do that?" I asked.

"Because you don't need praise or condemnation right now."

"What do you mean? I won. Didn't I?"

"You did. And it was so awesome. Violet, whatever YOU think about yourself, whatever faults you might think you have, you are STILL the most talented and capable fighter I know."

"I'm not though." I said. "I ran myself ragged. If he would have landed a clean hit towards the end…my aura wouldn't have been able to keep up."

"How can you be sure? Yeah, it makes sense. You were never one to take a hit so your defense probably isn't all that good. But how do you know that?"

"Because I made mistakes." I opened my arm to show him my cape. My aura should have been able to protect this and it didn't."

"We all make mistakes."

"I can't!" I snapped at him. "You've seen what I'm capable of. My family has a duty to the world. If I can't..." I choked back tears. "If I can't…when you make a mistake on the battlefield, you put yourself and those around you at risk. When I make a mistake, I put the whole world at risk. If I can't be the perfect warrior…If I can't do what must be done without making mistakes, then…then I'll…" I couldn't say it. Not out loud. "I'll end up like my mom." I put my head in my hands. Julius put ahand on my shoulder.

"Is that what you think?" He whispered.

"It's true."

"No. It isn't." He said. "There is no such thing as perfection. So how would you know perfection when you see it? How would you know that you're flawless if you only have other imperfect people to compare? What happens if you do everything right and something comes along you couldn't possibly see?"

"Then there was something wrong with…"

"Stop it." He cut me off. "Stop trying to be so damn perfect. It'll never work. And all you'll do is push away all the people who care about you. Think of a mission. You can't hold Nellie, or Rah to your standard. They can't possibly keep up. What happens to you when they make a mistake? Yeah, don't settle for mediocrity but the only one you should strive to beat is yourself. Because you are an amazing and wonderful person. If you can beat yourself, if you can keep getting better and better, then no one will beat you. And the only way that happens is if you take your lumps, pick yourself back up, and instead of moping around you keep moving forward." He stood up.

"Thank you." I said. I had hung on every word. For the first time in years I felt the burden lift off my shoulders. I reached for his hand as he pulled me up.

"Now I have a fight of my own to win." He said. "I hope to see you in the finals, not from the sidelines as a friend. But as a rival."

"Wait, what'll happen if you win this fight? We're both from Beacon so it takes a lot of the competition out."

"I don't know. It's never happened before." He walked away. I followed right behind him.

"Good luck." I said.

 **AN: I made it. That went longer than I suspected. A lot of that was Julius' monologue though. I know a lot of you waiting for them to just kiss are getting their patience tested. We have less than ten chapters left and she still just sees him as a friend. Well, time will tell.**


	18. Chapter 18

Violet Rose

 **AN: So, this chapter will be a bit shorter. Once again, it's just one fight and since it's not Violet's fight there won't be as many details. I still can't believe we're this close to the end of this story. I'm looking forward to what comes next.**

Chapter 18: Keep Your Eye on the Birdie

I recomposed myself and exited the hall. Lucky, Nellie and Rah were there waiting for me. They all had big smiles on their faces. The smiles fell when they saw how much of a mess I was. It was my own fault really. Years of psychological self-torture had taken its toll a long time ago.

"What happened?" Lucky said.

"Oh no…you finally confessed your feelings for Julius and he turned you down." Nellie theorized. My face twisted in confusion. "Wait, NO you didn't. He asked you out and you turned him down. Can't say I blame you, terrible time."

"Nellie!" Lucky stopped her.

"Nothing like that happened." I said. "He didn't ask me out and I certainly wouldn't ask him out."

"Oh." Nellie said. "Why not?"

"Because we're just friends. How many times do I got to say it? I don't like him like that. Even if I did, do you really think I have time for a boyfriend." I snapped.

"How many times do you have to say that to yourself." Nellie said quietly.

"What DID happen?" Rah intervened.

"I…my cloak got torn. I made a mistake and…may have had a bit of a mental breakdown over something so small."

"I believe it." Lucky said.

"What's that supposed to mean?" I said.

"Remember the pre-test for Basics of Aura last year?"

"No." I did.

"You freaked out because you had a ninety. I'd have to be lucky for a ninety on that thing. On that day I wasn't."

"Oh yeah, didn't you get like a forty?" Nellie remembered.

"Shut up, Nellie." Lucky groaned.

"Yes, you did. Ha, even I got a sixty." Nellie bragged. Lucky was getting all flustered.

"It was a pre-test!" Lucky snapped. "The whole point of a pre-test is to see what you know from outside sources before you learn it in school. If you would have gotten a perfect score…then WHAT is the point of coming here?"

"I…" I couldn't say anything that I hadn't heard from Julius. There were no original thoughts in my head at that moment. "You're right." I sighed. "No such thing as perfect anyway. All you can strive for is to be better than you were before."

"That's what I've been trying to tell you." Lucky said. "Mr. Arc drilled that into our heads the first day we were at Lighthouse."

"Anyway, we should go." Rah said. "Julius' match already began."

I opted to watch the match with my team rather than the legends in the VIP box. Julius was already having trouble with Null. He lunged with a swing at the Vacuan but missed as Null disappeared. Null reappeared and blasted Julius. Julius blocked the blast with his sword. The blast still pushed him to the edge of the pit. Julius ignited his blade and swung at Null but missed again.

Julius ignited his heat shield and covered his entire body. The swirling red mist acted as a cloak again Null's assault. Julius put his back against the wall and played defense. Null would reappear, fire his weapon then disappear.

"How is he doing that?" Rah asked.

"I don't know." Lucky said. "I just know it isn't like my semblance."

"It does seem more controlled." Poppy said.

"And more useful." Ranch added, earning a dirty look from Lucky. "What?"

"You're lucky you're endearing." Lucky said.

"Julius will think of something." Silicon said. "There's got to be a way around Null's powers."

"It's no his powers I'm worried about." Nellie said. "It's that weapon."

"It's a dust based weapon." Silicon noted. "Julius' sword is also made from dust."

"Which means it's taking a lot out of his aura to keep it from breaking." Nellie said worriedly.

"But it also surely takes a lot to fire." Lucky said.

Julius transferred his heat shield to coat his sword. Null disappeared. A second later, Julius flicked his wrist right as Null was coming back. Null was hit with the blade beam and hit the wall. Julius lunged at him and stabbed at him. Null caught it with a clap of his hands. Julius pushed the blade ever closer to Null's chest.

"How did he know where he would be?" Rah asked.

"It's simple." Poppy pushed his glasses up. "Null fell into an oppressive pattern. He was only reappearing at a handful of spots. Julius was keeping track of them. He countered the same exact way he's been blocking."

"Hmm…" Lucky hummed. "Null's semblance isn't intangibility or invisibility. Otherwise he'd had fired while invisible, or turn intangible now."

"So it has to be some kind of teleportation." I said.

"Bu it's slower than mine." Lucky said.

"That's because he's not teleporting." Amber said behind us.

"Hey." I said.

"You know this woman?" Nellie asked.

"Family friend." Amber said.

Julius broke through Null's guard and tossed him to the ground. He went to swing across his opponent's chest but was hit by Null's weapon. Null then rolled away and disappeared. Julius got back into a defensive position. This time though, Null was taking his time.

"So, what is it then?" Lucky asked.

"Your portals open up wormholes that cross spaces." Amber said. "Null has portals to, but they go to an in-between space. A pocket dimension created from his semblance. There, he hides, moves freely and plans his next move."

"I thought you weren't going to give me any pointers." I said.

"I wouldn't. But this battle is over, even if neither of them have realized it yet." Amber smirked. "By the way, congratulations on defeating my son. I know it must have been a lot harder than it looks."

"Thank you." I said.

Null tried firing at Julius again. But the beam was noticeably weaker. Julius blocked and deflected it back at Null. Null was blasted and flung against the wall. Julius rushed him and slashed him across the chest. The impact of the blow created a gust that sent a heat wave across the coliseum.

"Null Mu has been eliminated." The announcer called. "We have a massively unprecedented victory! Two, Beacon students heading to the final match tomorrow night!"

My friends and I cheered. Pretty much everyone else booed. I was happy for Julius. Though, reality hadn't set in that I would be the one facing him tomorrow night. I was comforted when Lucky put a hand on my shoulder and winked.

"Like I said." Amber said. "Null's aura was teetering on the brink for the last several minutes. All Julius had to do was land a major strike."

"You should go congratulate him." Nellie told me.

"Nah." Lucky said. "No use congratulating him when you're just going to kick his ass tomorrow." Lucky said. "Julius is unlucky in that regard."

"I guess you're right." I said. "But I'd much rather be facing him than Null." I admitted.

"Anyway, let's go before people bombard you and him with questions." Lucky grabbed my hand and dragged us through one of her portals. Unlucky us, we ended up right in the middle of the arena. "Oops." Lucky said. All the news outlets were pouring in around us, as well as Julius.

"Try again?" I said.

"Sure." She opened another portal and we ended up in the Beacon courtyard. "That was close." She laughed. "So, how badly are you going to beat Julius?" She asked. I shrugged.

"Not any worse than I've beat him before." I said.

 **AN: Didn't know how to end the chapter. I came up with some ideas for some of the other characters in this story. Namely, the bigger expanse that Lucky will play in the overarching story. So, something I want to do, but won't for a very, very long time, is a sequel to this that further explores what Violet does after all this is over. More on that later.**


	19. Chapter 19

Violet Rose

 **AN: This is what this whole chunk of the story has been building up too. This technically concludes the Vytal Arc of this story and we'll go into the final stretch from here. I'm pretty excited for this chapter. It's been a long time coming.**

Chapter 19: Crossing Blades

The day leading up to the fight was just a blur. I thought it best to not talk with Julius at all in the hours before out match. I also didn't watch the news. Though I would find out later that everyone in the betting circles were wagering I would win. Only a few people bet against me, mostly on the off chance that they'd become rich.

No one thought I was going to lose. I know I've always been stronger than Julius. It was no secret. A lot of people, so I'm told, were upset that Julius had made it this far. Two hunters from the same kingdom and school, fighting for the ultimate prize was boring. But those people didn't know me and they sure as hell didn't know Julius.

I stood in the ring. My legs shook with the roar of the crowd. There I was, perhaps the most powerful girl to ever fight in this tournament. Julius stood across from me, a guy who lucked his way through previous rounds. I was a nervous wreck and he was as cool as he could be.

"Just like old times." Julius said as he readied his weapon. "Let's give them a good show."

The instant the announcer called the fight to begin, I scattered. I flew behind him and swung for the back of his head. He reached back and blocked the blow with his sword. I spun my body around to bring my axe to his face. He ducked under it. I brought my axe down at his back and he blocked it from the prone position.

He used his own shoulder as leverage to drag my axe away and swing at me. I easily dodged it and side stepped the follow up strike. He thrust his sword rather quickly several times. I bobbed around the thrusts and swings. When I saw his heat shield come up, I fell back.

I flanked his left and smashed his heat shield with my weapon. Without breaking stride, he pivoted and swung at me. I backed away and kept backing. He was advancing on me. His pace was slow, at least compared to mine, but deliberate. He was driving me to the wall.

Any other opponent would have been pinned. I wasn't any other opponent. My ability to prevent damage had already gave me a crippling reputation. I bolted up the wall and landed behind him. His semblance blocked my blow as he spun around. I dashed back again. Then I bolted to his right, ready for another strike.

Then something happened. I saw his smile glisten in the sunlight. As my axe bore down on him, my body hitched. I hesitated for just a moment. For a fraction of a second I wondered what he was thinking. How could he be so calm? How could he still look at me with that contagious smirk? In that fraction, I realized that my body had hesitated and I was forced to step back. What should have been a clean hit turned into a sloppy dodge.

His semblance radiated like it never had before. The fire within his body burned brighter than my eyes ever had. His heat shield, his semblance, the most direct manifestation of his soul was shrouding the entire arena, and consuming me.

I retaliated by bringing in the power of nature. Branches and vines sprouted from the ground as I dragged my axe. The foliage came at him like a pack of wolves. With a swing of his fiery blade, they were all reduced to burning mulch.

I took his open swing as an opportunity. I closed the distance and swung for his head. Heat blasted my face. But it was my heart that felt the warmest. As our blades collided and rung, I remembered all the memories we shared.

His smile was so soft and radiant. At that moment of intersection, my full power had smashed into his. My maiden magic and Argentware eyes glistened against his searing aura. I was having fun in this fight. Julius' energy was intoxicating. In a moment of weakness, I blinked. As I blinked, he stabbed me in the chest and I fell backwards.

"Oh my!" The announcer said. I rolled back onto my feet. "I can't believe it but Violet Rose has taken damage."

I thought I'd have a panic attack. I should have. I was supposed to be Untouchable. That was my reputation. I should have blocked that strike. I could have dodged that strike. I shouldn't have stood in that impasse for so long. I shouldn't have hesitated. But those weren't the thoughts in my head.

Where I had believed, doubt would sprout, something else did. It was a feeling I had never felt in battle before. With all the adrenaline coursing through my veins, I had trouble placing the feeling. It wasn't until I saw Julius' face light up with joy at his modicum of success that I finally placed the feeling. Relief.

I was no longer strictly untouchable. I was no longer this perfect warrior, this idealized version of what a huntress should be. For the first time in battle, I was just Violet Rose. I was just an eighteen-year-old girl with a wonderful team and great friends. That's all I was in that moment. No destiny, no maidens, no family legacy. It was just me and him. Both smiling like idiots.

My thoughts turned exclusively to him. Julius, in that moment we were equals. We were two kindred spirits striving for the same goal. As our blades crashed once again, we were finally able to fight to our fullest. Where previous bouts in this tournament had been spent on defense, waiting for the perfect time to strike; this fight was complete passion, all offense. Our blades created a symphony of sound.

Sure, I would throw in plenty of dodges. My instincts were still strong after all. Not only that but no amount of emotion would make me change what kind of fighter I was. Just like no matter the odds were, Julius would never back down. Whether it was against me, or Null, or anybody else. I had stressed over Sol and panicked over Ambrose. But he was the only one to hit me. He was the one that, whether I consciously did it or not, let touch my body.

Our blades bypassed each other. I smashed through his heat shield. He pressed against my top. Our blades dug into our bodies. They grinded against our auras, our very souls. In that moment we both knew…we had crossed each other's hearts long ago…hadn't we?

It was just us as I backed away and blocked his next string of attacks. I didn't give a damn about the crowd roaring in frustration. I didn't care about the shock all the spectators around the world must be feeling. I didn't care what all the others thought. I stopped trying to be perfect. And for the only time to this date, I didn't even care to win.

I had been enticed with the feeling of relief that came over me with every blow. It was as if the wall that had clouded my vision was crumbling. Like the dark room, I had secluded myself in was lighting up. It was like the weight of the world had drastically decreased. To about ninety kilograms if I had to guess.

That's not to say I gave up. Oh no, believe me I still sent him through the ringer. I bounced him around like I had Ambrose. I slammed him like I had Sol. I scooped him up and threw him down. I did everything I had done before. There just wasn't as much force behind my blows. And I was willingly taking hits.

Julius picked himself up from a particularly heavy blast from my axe. The fire that radiated from his body had dwindled. By all rights, he should have been done right then and there. But as I swooped in to finish him, I saw his confident smile again. There was a blast as our blades grinded into our bodies. My legs gave out and I fell to the ground. Julius stayed standing.

"Amazing!" The announcer said. "A double knocko…" He stopped as the dust settled. "Ladies and gentlemen doth my eyes deceive me? Julius Season is still standing. Julius Season is victorious."

The arena was silent. Everyone just grumbled to themselves. A few people's scattered voices booed. Julius looked down on me with the most adorably confused look on his face. Then, I laughed. I laughed so hard. I laughed more in the next minute than I had at anything. I felt like a completely different person.

"I won?" He said.

"Yep." I kept smiling. I held my hand up so that he could lift me off the ground.

"Violet you didn't have to…" I put a finger on his lips.

"I know. But you have no idea how good this feels."

"But it isn't fair…"

"To you maybe. But I can't imagine the pressure building up anymore." I was inches from his face. "Let's celebrate later. I heard the ceremonious parade is in Mountain Glenn and I know the perfect restaurant. My treat." I dashed off as the media slowly made their way to him. I flew with joy to the dorm room. I was soon joined by Lucky.

"What has gotten into you?" She said with a smile.

"I don't know." I admitted. I started changing out of my hood and getting my pajamas ready. "After he hit me, I just felt the weight of the world plummet."

"You are something else." Lucky shook her head.

"Lucky…is this what love feels like?" I asked reluctantly.

"I can't say for sure. I've never been in love before. But everything I've heard about it points to this. You've been in love with Julius for a long time. It just looks like you were able to let your guard down for once." She bit her lip. "Lucky him."

"Lucky." I walked over to her. "You're the greatest friend and leader I could have ever asked for." I gave her a hug.

"Thank you. It means a lot to me…coming from you." She said sorrowfully.

"What's wrong?" I asked.

"N-nothing." She stammered as she pulled away from me. "Just…wondering how long you'll ride this euphoric wave before you collapse back into stress."

"Well…" I trailed off. "Who knows. All I know is that I don't care what they think. But at the same time I do…does that make sense?"

"You're still the same, you just realize that trivial things like tournament hype don't mean as much as the people you care about."

"Exactly."

"Yeah I…I know quite a bit about that." She said. "Anyway, I'm going to go back to Julius if you want to come with."

"Hmm…" I considered her offer. "When he's done with all his interviews, bring him here and I'll have some cookies ready."

"Lucky us."

"Lucky me." I added.

"Lucky him."

 **AN: As a fight, maybe it's disappointing but that was the point. This whole tournament arc has actually been a pretentious way of paralleling romance with action and it all culminated here with numerous double-extenders and innuendos. I hope you liked how this all played out. Next time, celebration at Mountain Glenn and Violet's mission with her dad begins.**


	20. Chapter 20

Violet Rose

 **AN: Now we're going to get into the final countdown. I don't think I've been subtle about what's going down but that's because I've known about this for a long time. I also find it difficult to go from one subject to the other so when in doubt, Ozpin out.**

Chapter 20: Parade

I kept my distance from the parade. I was invited into it of course but I didn't do well with crowds. Julius was the champion of Vytal, I wasn't nor did I care to be. But I still watched from the rooftop of a hotel. From here, I could see his face plastered with a smile. He was eating the attention like a batch of cookies.

But I couldn't stay for the celebration. I had a job to do. I had already told Julius I'd meet him for a date the next day. He understood. I feel like he understands me better than myself sometimes. Maybe that's why I fell for him the way I did. I thought I knew so much more about myself than anyone could. Alas, none of that knowledge amounted to anything. I couldn't predict how I handled that last fight. But at the same time, it was obvious.

"Are you ready?" Dad said. I turned to him and put my hood up.

"Yes." I walked over to him. Mr. Branwen and Ozpin joined us on the roof.

"After analyzing the Grimm patterns, I think I know what's going on." Mr. Branwen said.

"The Grimm are slipping around via the cave systems." Ozpin said. "None of them got through the defenses but the fact they keep coming concerns me."

"And it's from the same handful of caves." Mr. Branwen said.

"Do we have a map of the cave system?" Dad asked.

"No." Ozpin answered. "We do have shelters down there from the war. It was the foundation for this city. Though, there's nothing around those cave entrances."

"I looked but couldn't find anything." Mr. Branwen said. "Whatever is going on, it's deep."

"You think it's a Grimm pool?" Dad asked.

"That would certainly make sense." Ozpin said. "But there's only a handful of people capable of creating such a thing."

"You don't think She slipped in?" Mr. Branwen said.

"If she were to create a pool right beneath our noses, we wouldn't have learned about this so easily." Ozpin said.

"What kind of Grimm are we talking about?" I asked.

"Mostly creeps." Mr. Branwen said. "There's beowolves and ursai as well, but they're far less consistent."

"So, the people aren't in danger." I sighed in relief.

"Not at the moment." Dad said.

"Violet, I would like for you to accompany me." Ozpin said.

"Raymond and I will investigate the tunnels further." Mr. Branwen said.

"You and I will walk amongst the town." Ozpin pulled a red gem out of his pocket. It was in the shape of a star with copper wiring tangling it. He then took out a white stone. "If they're being lured to the city, we'll find their source with these."

"One of these days we need to take inventory on all the Redstone junk we have." Mr. Branwen said as he put on some glasses made from the same Redstone.

"Sadly, Avarice doesn't like sharing." Ozpin lamented. "Not even I know what all he has in his pocket."

"I still don't like how you talk about that thing so casually." Mr. Branwen said.

"Who are you talking about?" I asked.

"Curious thing that…" Dad said.

"Let's go Violet." Ozpin said. We descended into the streets. Ozpin would regularly look through each stone. He handed me a map of the area. "We can check this box off the map." He said. I followed him down dark alleys and crowded streets. Every once in a while, he would tell me to put a check mark or an x on one of numerous check boxes on the map.

"So what exactly are you doing?" I pondered.

"I'm tracing the very essence of Grimm. I'm one of only five people in recorded history who can do it."

"Impressive?" There was a question burning the edge of my tongue. "Just how old are you?" I asked.

"Believe it or not, but I'm only ten years old." He laughed. "Though, age isn't exactly a qualifier with me. You know about the Maidens, but do you know of the Wizard?"

"Only in the confines of the story. What, are you to him what the modern maidens are to the original Maidens?"

"Yes and no. No one truly lays claim to that power, for there is no power to be shared. He gave all his magic to the Maidens. All that was left was his mind. What I tell you is to never escape your mouth. Understood?"

"Yes."

"I possess the knowledge of the Wizard. It is my job to oversee the Maidens and train them. It is also my job to keep humanity on the right track, an advisor to civilization. Though I do hold significant power, I am significantly weaker in a fair fight than say…your father. After seeing your display, I'm willing to bet you'll surpass me by the time you graduate from my school. I am the Wizard, strictly speaking. But I am really just the man behind the veil."

"That makes sense." I said.

"Really? Usually when I tell someone they can't believe it."

"When I was five years old, my best friend was a shadow dwelling Grimm. The only thing that has shocked me since is how good it felt to loose."

"Speaking of which, how is Julius?"

"He's…you know…Vytal Festival champion and all."

"Oh, to be young and in love."

"Have you ever been in love?"

"Supposedly once. But for the life of me I can't remember." He mused.

We kept walking around Mountain Glenn. We must have walked for hours. Julius was trying to call me. I texted him saying I was with my dad and Ozpin. I told Lucky we were on some little mission investigating Grimm sightings. Nellie kept buzzing me to come hang out with all of them. Then Julius texted me asking if he could tag along.

"Professor Ozpin?" I said.

"Yes?"

"I um…I was actually wondering if Julius and our teammates could tag along." I said bashfully.

"When we find the source of the Grimm…they may have to." He said. "Let's find the source first, then when we know where we're going we'll ask for them to join us."

"Thank you, Professor." I said. I messaged them to be on standby and combat ready. Julius sent me a picture of his big dorky face giving a thumb's up. I couldn't help but smile. It felt so good to be honest with myself and my emotions. I hope you realize that sooner rather than later.

"It appears our team is back." Ozpin said. Dad and Mr. Branwen came around the corner with a map of their own. "Find anything?"

"You could say that." Dad said. Ozpin took their map and examined both pieces.

"Ah, it appears the Grimm are being centralized form this part of Mountain Glenn itself." Ozpin circled a part of the map."

"Hmm…" Mr. Branwen said. "That's a Merlot Industries testing ground."

"I see." Ozpin said. "Perhaps whatever he's doing has the Grimm becoming active."

"Or maybe the old kook is stressing himself into the Grimm's attention." Mr. Branwen mused.

"Either way…we should pay the good doctor a visit." Ozpin said. I messaged my team about where we would be meeting.

 **AN: As a fight, maybe it's disappointing but that was the point. This whole tournament arc has actually been a pretentious way of paralleling romance with action and it all culminated here with numerous double-extenders and innuendos. I hope you liked how this all played out. Next time, celebration at Mountain Glenn and Violet's mission with her dad begins.**


	21. Chapter 21

Violet Rose

 **AN: I can't believe this story is already almost done. It feels like just last week that I was wrapping up RWBYond War. Things are going to get really interesting and foreshadow-y. Including possibly some hints at what's going on with the villains introduced at the end of RWBYond War.**

Chapter 21: The Good Doctor

We arrived at the base of Merlot industries' testing facility. Ozpin, Mr. Branwen and I, along with my team and Team JSPR. The bunker was embedded within Mountain Glenn itself. The Merlot industries logo shined bright with the night.

"Violet!" Julius waved. I didn't bother filtering out the impulse to run towards them.

"Hey." I said when I came face to face with him.

"So, what are we doing?" Silicon asked.

"We are investigating Grimm sightings." Ozpin answered.

"So, they coming from here?" Ranch asked.

"They're certainly lured here." Mr. Branwen answered.

"The four of us will go in." Dad said gesturing to Ozpin, Mr. Branwen and myself. "Julius can come in too."

"Ms. Charm, you're in charge of the rest." Ozpin said. "Secure the perimeter and stay vigilant."

"Yes sir." Lucky said.

The now five of us walked to the door and knocked. I hung back with Julius and let the adults take the lead. We stood around, starring at the door. A few moments later an image appeared on the screen. It was an old man with wild white hair.

"Ah, Professor Ozpin." He said. "To what do I owe the pleasure."

"Dr. Merlot, may we come in?" Ozpin asked.

"Hmm…I would rather you not." Merlot said.

"There's been a concerning amount of Grimm activity and this seems to be the epicenter."

"I see…" Dr. Merlot said. "I was unaware of this. Thank you for notifying me."

"What are you working on in their doctor?" Dad said.

"Simply put, a way to end human suffering." Dr. Merlot said. "I was hoping to show you someday Professor."

"Well there's no time like the present." Ozpin responded.

"True…perhaps I will let you in. Just…leave the kids. There's no way they would understand what I'm doing. Not in the way that you can."

"I'm sure they'll manage." Ozpin said in a cheery voice. The door opened slowly and eerily. "Be on your guard. There was something not quite right with him and it seems all too familiar."

"Right this way huntsmen." Merlot's voice echoed in the hall. We walked down the dimly lit halls until we arrived in a small office. It was decorated with numerous sigils and manuscripts. There was also a single tapestry of a massive white raven burning a town.

"Good evening Doctor." Ozpin said.

"I would offer a seat, but there aren't enough chairs." Merlot said.

"I'll stand thank you." Ozpin said. Mr. Branwen turned into a bird and sat on a shelf.

"Wow, that is so nifty I wish I could do it." Julius said.

"So what is it you're working on?" Ozpin said. Merlot sighed.

"Science is the art of innovation. It is taking what we know and expanding it further. But someone expanded it further well beyond his time." Merlot took a small leather journal and a metal box from his desk.

"Is that what I think it is?" Ozpin's eyes lit up.

"It's positively ancient I know. To think, trapping soundwaves on bits of celluloid, it's quite impressive given the age. It would have been absurdly high tech for when it must have been made."

"Bringing back ancient technology? That doesn't seem all that bad." Julius said.

"Just press play. It's not the box, it's what's on it." Merlot said.

Ozpin gently pressed the play button. There was a light echoing sound as the tape spun in the player. Then, a sly voice came over the small speakers.

"This is the diary of Avis Bran…" Ozpin slammed on the stop button.

"This. Should. Not. Exist." He said coldly.

"Who are you to decide what should and should not exist?" Merlot mused. Ozpin flipped through the pages of the book. They were all encrypted and covered in sigils.

"Where did you find this?" He barked.

"It fell into my hands. It was a present from a girl in a brown cloak. She also gave me the Cipher." He let that last word echo through the room. "I now know the answer to a question you forgot to ask…Wizard."

"What are you playing at?" Ozpin grabbed him by the collar. "How long…how long have you been messing with Redstone?"

"Long enough to see the truth beyond the truth." Merlot answered. "Would you like to see my pet?"

"I would gladly." Ozpin let him down. A minute later we were on an elevator. Julius nudged me.

"So, this Avis guy has Ozpin pretty pissed." Julius said.

"Dad?" I said.

"I don't know who this Avis Bran is." Dad answered.

"He was an alchemist a long time ago." Mr. Branwen said. "He's technically my ancestor. Built my house over in Raven's Peak."

"House is a major understatement." Dad groaned.

The elevator opened into a large lab. In the center was a massive Grimm Dragon. It seemed dormant, like it was sleeping. There were dozens of machines plugged into. Every few seconds a vial of green sludge would be pumped into it and a Grimm would leak from its body. There was also a glass orb with a red and black mist trapped inside it. There was also a large Redstone lamp at a control console.

"Magnificent, isn't it?" Merlot said.

"I can think of some other words." Ozpin clenched his fist. "What you have here is a harbinger, a class of Grimm that can spawn other Grimm. This one is called a dragon class ten. Sometimes referred to as wyvern."

"But only pretentious windbags will split hairs like that." Mr. Branwen said.

"If this thing gets out it'll destroy the whole city." Ozpin said.

"I have it quite under control." Merlot said.

Julius and I walked around the massive flying beast. It looked so peaceful. Its body was blemish free and smooth. I ghosted my hand across its white skull. This was a harbinger, a veritable conduit of Grimm essence. I could never dream of being this close to one.

"You have nerves of steel Vi." Julius said. I looked back to see that he was as far away from the monster's maw as possible.

"It's not doing any harm." I said.

"You make no sense sometimes. Only you would be a nervous wreck around crowds yet totally comfortable staring literal death in the face."

"Come on, you should touch it." I mused. "It may be the only chance to touch a Grimm like this without risking your life."

"Are you sure about that?" He said. Ozpin and Merlot's argument was getting louder.

"I found a benefactor and took it!" Merlot shouted.

"She wants to destroy the kingdoms!" Ozpin shouted back. Dad dashed over to me.

"What are you doing?" He said.

"Taking advantage of our enemy's weakness." I answered. "What are they arguing about now?"

"Apparently, Ozpin's rival is the one who gifted him this dragon."

"So, what does this have to do with Avis Bran?"

"This harvesting apparatus is his design." Dad answered. I looked over and saw Mr. Branwen punch Dr. Merlot. At that moment the dragon's eyes opened. "Get back." Dad said as he pulled me away. His eyes began glowing.

"Raymond wait." Ozpin called out.

"Run." Raymond grabbed me and I grabbed Julius. We dashed up to the observation deck.

"Now look at what you've done." Merlot blamed.

"My powers didn't work on it." Dad said.

"They did." Ozpin sighed. "You just made it more frightened. Your abilities aren't enough to petrify it so quickly. Is there a kill switch?" Ozpin asked. The dragon was growing more restless and struggled against its restraints. Merlot's eyes ghosted to a button. Ozpin walked towards it.

"No!" Merlot tackled Ozpin. The force knocked over the globe. The dragon broke free of its restraints and started smashing through the walls as it shrieked. The chaos of the situation knocked the glass over. Ozpin knocked Merlot out. The glass dome shattered and the mist slammed into me.

It all happened so fast. The dragon was clawing its way through the lab and the rock of the mountain. I was against sitting in Julius' lap. I blushed and stood up. A white blob dropped to the ground, out of the black mist as it vanished. A strange feeling washed over me…it was…emptiness.

"Wizard?" It bubbled. It looked like a giant white slug man. Drool dripped from its mouth and seared through the floor. "Argentware." It hissed.

"Raymond. Take the kids and get out of here." Ozpin said. Dad got in a defensive stance. "Go, now." He said.

"We can help." Julius said.

"Raymond and Violet's genetic trait is the only thing that can stop that dragon. Corvus and I will deal with the Grimoire." My heart sunk. Grimoire…the progenitors of all the Grimm.

"I don't think so." Void hissed. It spat acid at us. Ozpin swooped in and put a dome around us. With a flick of his wrist he changed his grip on his cane to wield it like a weapon. Void leaped towards us. Ozpin moved so fast that he looked like half a dozen Ozpins stabbing at the beast all at once.

"GET TO THE CITY NOW!" Ozpin yelled as he batted Void away again. Julius grabbed my hand and we started running.

 **AN: The fall of Mountain Glenn has begun. We all know that it turns out bad. How bad does it turn out? Keep reading to find out. Also, Void is back, that Glynda eating bastard is…not going to appear again. This is in first person so we'll only see what she does.**


	22. Chapter 22

Violet Rose

 **AN: Just a few chapters away from ending this story. It's been neat. I know this story hasn't been particularly popular (an all oc cast will do that). But I'm glad I still managed to write this. I'm thinking these chapters are still going to be short, but we'll just have to wait and see.**

Chapter 22: The Price of Arrogance

"What the hell was that thing?" Julius asked. We were running for the exit from the facility.

"That Mr. Season was a Grimoire." Dad said.

"A talking Grimm…is there anything else you'd like to share?" Julius said.

"The Argentware, people like my father and I, have an adverse effect on Grimm." I answered.

"And that's how we're going to stop that dragon?" Julius asked.

"Precisely." Dad answered. We breached the outside. The dragon was circling the city. From this vantage point I could see it leaking the black ooze, which created more Grimm. More Grimm meant more danger. More danger meant more panic. More panic meant more Grimm. It was a vicious cycle.

"What. Did. You. Do?" Silicon hissed.

"There's no time to point fingers." Dad said. "We woke a sleeping giant and now we have to deal with it." Dad stepped in front of the eight of us. "Do not let your fear cloud you. From now until such time that the people are safe…you are no longer students. You are huntsmen. You will get to the city and get as many people to safety as you can."

"What about that dragon?" Rah asked.

"We need to clip its wings and ground it." Dad answered. "I'll rally anyone with ranged expertise and handle that. Poppy, Nellie, Rah and Ranch, come with me. The rest of you, get to the city."

"What about me?" I asked. "I can help."

"Unless you found a way to blast that thing from the sky…you need to wait until we have it grounded."

"We'll get people indoors and in basements." Julius said. "That way their out of the way."

"You all know what to do." Dad said. "Now scatter."

I paired up with Lucky and she teleported us into the city. In every direction, there were hundreds of creeps, beowolves and ursai. My instincts were pulling me every which way. A beowolf alpha lunged at me and with a flick of my wrist I batted it to the ground. It swiped at me but I dodged and slammed my axe into its paw. Lucky backed me up by smashing its head with her escrima sticks. I added to it with a strike to its head.

The dragon sprayed black ink everywhere. Beowolves covered the rooftops where some had sought shelter and others had taken vantage points against the Grimm. I dashed up with my sheer speed alone and cu a wolf in half. I flew through the beowolves and creeps like a bullet. Only occasionally would I be thwarted by a large ursa and be forced to fight a little smarter.

I looked up to the dragon and saw it being pelted with gunfire, dust blasts and canons. Nothing was so much as slowing it down. Then, high up in the air Null appeared. He slipped out of his portal and blasted the dragon in the face. The dragon shrieked as it collided with a rooftop.

I decided to take advantage and rush over to it. It rested on the skyscraper. More and more Grimm leaked off of it. As I approached it I saw someone else rocketing up the building. It was Sol, armed to the teeth with an armament that made the one he used against me look like a pea shooter. He punched the dragon but his fist bounced off the thick armor.

"This is the end for you!" Sol said as he twisted through the air. "INCINERATE!" The hell that was unleashed from his payload engulfed the dragon. Fire, lightning, missiles, wind bullets, enough fire power to level the building were thrown at the dragon all at once. Then as the smoke cleared, the Grimm emerged with its jaw opened wide. A massive tree sprouted right before my eyes. Retina put up a barrier between Sol and the dragon. Sol kicked off it, narrowly dodging the monster's maw as it tore through the wood.

Then Dad appeared from an adjacent rooftop and with a single slice, tore into the dragon's wing. Null appeared above the dragon yet again and blasted it. The dragon was forced downward and into Poppy's aura bomb. Poppy came in riding Nellie's centaur form. They blasted incoming griffons and nevermores as they approached the dragon. An alpha lunged behind them but was intercepted by Julius, who sliced it in two.

A griffon landed in front of me. I sliced its claw off as it swung at me. A few blows later and it was dead. Rah was gliding around blasting Grimm that were running in the streets. Lucky bashed creeps left and right. Julius ignited his heat shield and roasted a dozen creeps with a single swing. Dad was bolting through the horde with nary an effort.

I looked down the road. Necros was on a rooftop taking potshots at a group of beowolves. A massive ursa major ran behind the pack and threw the last beowolf at Necros. Necros ducked and Rib sliced the wolf in two with her triple bladed scythe. Another beowolf, this one an alpha, swatted her. Her damage reverse semblance took the pain and dealt it back to the beowolf killing it. The ursa major was stopped when Crimson dropped down on it. He ripped the monster limb from limb before it disappeared.

In another direction, I saw Eli and his team working on getting people into the subways. Mantis was swooped up by a nevermore. The beast was stopped when Polis threw her spear into the monster's wing. It dropped Mantis and he was caught by Auric.

I continued my warpath through the city. I kept the dragon in eyesight the whole time. That's when I saw them. The goliaths were marching this way from the adjacent valley. That was when it dawned on me. As I watched the defensive tower get ripped to shreds by a dozen nevermores. As I saw the bodies lying in the streets. I realized just how unprepared Mountain Glenn was for this scale of attack.

I dashed through the air and blasted a nevermore with my maiden power. I caught a man who was falling through the air and put him gently on the ground. I looked around for anything I could use to stop the goliaths' advance. I read once that goliaths had attacked the city of Vale over a hundred years' ago. Ozpin, or the Ozpin of that age, had took out part of one of the many mountains that made the city's western border. He crushed the Grimm under it and that rockslide was used to further the city's wall. But there was nothing like that here.

"We're all doomed." The guard said.

"Don't say things like that." I tried reassuring him.

"We didn't expect the Grimm to attack us with such numbers. They must have been lured here from all the negativity this last tournament brought us."

"That's not true." I said. "It's…it's going to be okay." I tried convincing myself as much as him.

"Child, Untouchable Violet Rose, this…this is the price of arrogance. The council thought they could build a city without the shallow seas and tall mountains that surround the capital. They thought they could take a village, a village that was wiped out decades ago, and turn it into a metropolis."

He was right. Even without the dragon, all it would take was a couple of bad attitudes and the goliaths would come. The city's defenses couldn't even withstand a few nevermores let alone half a dozen goliaths. If not for all the able-bodied students here for the tournament, the entire city would have been annihilated.

The thunderous steps of the goliaths shook me to my core. All six of them were stomping towards me. I swallowed audibly and stepped forward. I too was arrogant. I thought I was untouchable. I thought that if I was perfect I wouldn't need to expose the true power inside me. But if I were to stop these things. If I was to save this city…I couldn't hold back.

Julius' smiling face flashed in my mind. It was followed with thoughts of my Dad, my teammates and finally the warm embrace of my mother. As I was crushed by the weight of the world on my shoulders, for the first time I didn't fight it…I embraced it. And in that feeling I let every ounce of power pour from my very soul. And a white light radiated through the streets.

The goliaths stopped and changed directions. One of them froze where it stood. My body burned and my heart felt like it was evacuating my chest. Every fiber in my being was screeching like the dragon still circling the city. But it worked. I had taken care of the goliaths.

As the light left my eyes and darkness returned to the city I fell. I saw an ursa looming towards me. A red bolt of lightning tore through it. I was caught from behind. The last thing I saw before I blacked out was Julius. He was the one who caught me. But standing in front of me was Ambrose…blood dripping from his face.

 **AN: The Battle isn't over yet. The chaos is going to continue next chapter. Then there'll be some wrap up and aftermath stuff before the epilogue chapter. I hope you liked how I tied a lot of the unconnected threads together. It was fun figuring out a way to bring some of the Vytal guys back into things. I will note, that anything I do with this general era (between the Great War and STRQ stuff) will involve Null. He becomes really important for Remnant later on (even if he's not so important to RWBYond).**


	23. Chapter 23

Violet Rose

 **AN: We're getting close. Man, I feel like I have no time this weekend. It's just an absolute mess for me. Two papers, two presentations and a test. So, the next few chapters may be sporadic and short. Luckily, there isn't as much going on in them. Hopefully I've done a good enough job getting you readers invested in some of these characters.**

Chapter 23: Martyr

What happened, after I blacked out, was a blur. I could feel some people carrying me. I heard the screech of the dragon and the howls of beowolves. I heard inaudible voices mumbling something around me. I smelled the scent of the gardens burning. I felt myself being set to the cold hard ground.

It carried on like this for hours. Things had quieted down by the time I came to. I was staring up at Julius and Nellie. Their faces were caked with blood sweat and mud. The only light was the light of a dozen or so torches. Lucky was pacing back and forth in front of me.

"Welcome back." Julius said. I looked around. My eyes adjusted to my surroundings. I saw lots of people wounded around me. There were only a handful of doctors running back and forth between the injured.

"Where are we?" I asked.

"We're in the cave system." Julius said. "Professor Arc led us here."

"Arthur Arc?" I asked.

"No, his son Lumiėre." Julius said. "Arthur went straight home after our fight."

"Can't say I blame him." Nellie said shakily. I stood up.

"Is the dragon dead?" I asked.

"No." Dad's voice said behind me. "Every time I get close it runs off." I turned to him. "Simply put, with me power…I can't freeze it in time. I need Ozpin to slow it down for me. I could also use your help." I nodded.

"Are you crazy?" Julius said. "She just woke up from blasting goliaths with whatever it is the two of you do."

"I can do it." I stopped Julius. "It's not the first time I've fired off a shot like that."

"Either way, it's not safe to try that level of attack again. And we still need Ozpin." Dad knelt to the ground and started drawing.

I looked around as he did so. Ambrose and Null were there nursing their arm wounds. Sol was on the ground writhing in pain from a severed arm. There were still a lot of people missing. Team NCRP and EMAE were among the groups still unaccounted for.

"There's other groups in other pockets." Lucky said. It was as if she could register my thoughts.

"Alright." Dad said. "I have contacted Ozpin thanks to Corvus. The dragon is nested on the top of the mountain. Ozpin and Corvus are there in Merlot's facility."

"Did they take care of the Grimoire?" I asked.

"Yes, they did." He answered. "That's the second biggest threat taken care of with no bloodshed." He smiled. "We'll take this path way…"

"If I may." Null interrupted and walked over. "I have a better idea."

"Shoot." Dad said.

"I get us there. You all meet up. We take that thing out. I get us back."

"You can do that?" Lucky said.

"You're not the only one with a transportation type semblance." He said. "Fair warning…it'll be a bit nauseating." He looked to lucky. "Especially for you, with your body being acclimated to your own transportation signature."

"Sounds like a plan." Julius said.

"That's only part of the plan." Dad said. "Once we're there we'll need to keep it grounded and focused entirely on us. Violet, Ozpin and I will need to have our undivided attention on it. The rest of you will need to cover us."

"Easy enough." Julius said. "Let's go."

"Alright…" Null said. "One, two, three, four, five…should be easy enough…" He trailed off.

"You've…never done this before have you?" Lucky said.

"It's never been necessary." He said. He slowed his breath. "Everyone grab hold of me and follow my lead. If you let-go or divert the path there's no telling what'll happen."

I, and everyone else, put our hands-on Null. We stepped forward After about three steps, a wind rushed in my face. We were not in Null's realm. It looked like we were trapped in a glass box. Small mirrors lined the walls and ceiling. The floor was uneven and made from shifting cubes. Null lifted his hand. A wind rushed through all of us. I felt my blood rushing to my feet. In one of the mirrors, Ozin was standing with his cane in hand. His sweater was torn and scorched and his hair was more disheveled than usual.

"Greetings." He said as we stepped from it.

"You ready?" Dad said.

"Yes…let's end this." Ozpin said. We turned the corner and saw the lumbering Grimm. It looked the worse for wear. Its wings were torn and its armor was cracked. I looked at the crumbling city below. My heart went out for the untold thousands that had perished.

"Don't let your fear consume you kid." Mr. Branwen said. "You'll only make things harder on yourself if you keep looking at the city like that."

"I know…but it's hard not to look…I think that's why the Grimm have always been a threat." I said.

"Yep. You're finally figuring out why people like us…people like you are so important." He said.

We approached the dragon. It caught sight of us and screeched again. Ozpin slammed his cane down. A green aura surrounded the monster as it slowed to a crawl. Null transported above it and blasted it back down. Dad grabbed my hand.

"Now is the time." He said. We stood face to face with the dragon. Our eyes glowed a white light. I focused on the sound of my own breathing. I ignored the chaos around me. Lucky, Julius, Null and Mr. Branwen were dealing with the Grimm. "Whatever happens now…know that you are not alone." The dragon started to be petrified with fear. Then my dad pushed me away.

"Dad?" I said in a panic. Dad stabbed the dragon in the eye with his sword.

"I've got things from here." He said.

"Dad what're you doing?" I said.

"I'm…I'm sorry…but I can't risk you exposing just how powerful you are." He said.

"Dad, no, I can handle myself."

"This is the only way!" He said. "I'm making sure that this dragon never sees the light of day again. I don't care if it's not guaranteed. This is the only way to make sure that the dragon doesn't come back to life with negative emotions alone."

"Then let me help." I argued.

"No, it won't work." He said. "All you'll do is scare it into submission. If you get in the way, it'll be able to come back with just a wave of the witch's hand. I know who it is that supplied Merlot with this thing and I am determined. To take this piece off the board. Even if it kills me." He growled. Reality set in.

"DAD!" I screamed. Mr. Branwen caught me.

"Make sure she's taken care of." Dad said.

"Raymond…it's been an honor."

"And it has been my genuine pleasure." He said. The very mountain began to shake. I screamed his name again. Mr. Branwen sliced through the air. A red and black portal manifested in front of me. We all ran through. Like cowards we ran through. Ozpin was the last one in. I had to be dragged through that swirling tunnel of energy. My eyes screamed and my lungs went dry. Then we were back. We were back in the cavern. I looked to Ozpin for confirmation.

"I'm…so sorry…I don't know what he was thinking." He said. I looked to the solemn faces of my comrades and the people all around. I dropped to my knees. Julius put a hand on my shoulder. I reached my arms around him…and cried.

 **AN: I feel like I need to explain what happened. I wanted this death to be a heroic sacrifice that was also a bit out of left field. It fits his character and will be an important factor should Violet ever consider sharing her secret Maiden powers with Ozpin. Other than that, I know it probably felt cheap. But it was planned from the beginning.**


	24. Chapter 24

Violet Rose

 **AN: We're wrapping things up pretty quick. In fact, this is the last real chapter. Next is the epilogue and then I may have something special for you guys after that. This is also another chapter I've been looking forward to.**

Chapter 24: Roulette

I couldn't believe what was happening. I was in absolute shellshock. I wandered through the rows of wounded aimlessly. I stopped every few feet to see another body bag being closed. The death count was close to three-thousand. Over half of Mountain Glenn's population. The city was lost. There was no hope for returning to the surface.

This was really happening. But the reality hadn't set in. I prayed for my father's safety. I prayed that he'd return to me. It was naïve and wishful thinking. It wouldn't set in that he was gone and I was alone, the last of the Argentware, until I heard a young girl cry.

"Please, calm down." Eli pleaded. I walked over to the Haven team. Auric, Emp and Eli were huddled over a girl. It was Veronica. Necros' sister was bleeding profusely from a gaping wound in her stomach. I walked over to the group. Veronica was huffing and wheezing, choking back tears of pain.

"Stay with us kid." Emp said.

"Where's Necros?" I asked.

"We don't know." Eli said. "His team was with Mantis in an apartment when it came down. We were down the road getting some people to safety. But we were too late." His head was hung low.

"She's going to make it…right?" I said.

"She's…" Eli clenched his fist. "A building was dropped on us. We're lucky to still be alive. If not for my elasticity semblance, the both of us would have been crushed instantly." He said. "But my…my body was too flexible. I couldn't…I couldn't stop the impact."

"It's okay." Emp said. "We did all we could."

"Did we? We're supposed to be the defenders of the world. Now look at us. Hiding out in caves."

I knelt to Veronica and grabbed her hand. Julius and Ambrose both joined my sides. She couldn't even form words her body spasmed so much. I steadied my heart beat as I clutched her fingers. She seemed to calm down with my presence.

"It's going to be alright." I said. I was trying to convince myself more than anything.

"So much needless death." Ambrose said. His gaze was on a woman being zipped up into a body bag just a few meters away.

"It could have been worse." Julius said. "Could you imagine if that thing had gotten into Vale." I shuddered at the thought.

"Null told me about your father." Ambrose said. "I'm sorry for your loss." I ignored him. Reality on that front had yet to set in. Julius grabbed my hand.

"Ozpin is trying to get some trains here to take us into the city." He said. "I know you need time but…with it being the end of the year…Lucky and I don't want you having to go back to Patch alone." He assured. "You can come with us or we can go with you. It's up to you."

"Thank you…but I don't think that's necessary." He was so far from my mind. To this day, he hasn't been that far from my mind since. And this was the furthest he had been since we met.

"Huh…" Ambrose said. There was some rocks shifting at the wall. We all got in our defensive stances. A fiery hand pulled a boulder away from the cavern. Crimson emerged. He was followed by Necros, who was holding Mantis in his arms.

"Necros." Eli said shakily.

"Mantis!" Emp said. Necros passed Mantis to Crimson as Emp ran towards them. There was a gaping wound across the smaller boy's face but he seemed to be breathing just fine.

"Veronica." Necros said. "No. no, no, nonononono." He ran and slid to his sister's side. "Veronica talk to me."

"Necros I'm so sorry." Eli said.

"Nikki?" Veronica trailed off.

"Rest easy sis. Big brother is here." He gave a fake smile. A tear fell down his cheek.

"Nekki...I'm scared." Veronica cried.

"Don't be." He reassured. "The doctors are going to patch you up just fine."

"Necros they…" Eli started.

"Shut up!" Necrosis commanded. He looked at me. "She's all I have left. You have to do something."

I squeezed my eyes shut. Why was he asking me? I couldn't do anything. I couldn't look him in the eye let alone save his sister. I felt so useless.

"Nekki." She said. "Don't cry. I don't want to go but...at least I can see mommy and daddy...before you."

"Don't say things like that." Necrosis said.

"Frère Jacques…" She started to sing. Then with one last breath of relief she passed. Her grip on my hand slipped and went limp.

"Veronica?" Necrosis said. "Veronica!" He said as his face twisted in agony.

I broke down. All the terrible truths about that day hit me with the force of a beringel. I failed. I failed this city, these people, my family, my team, and my friends.

"I'm sorry for…" Ambrose put a hand on his shoulder but Necrosis pushed it off.

"What do you have to feel sorry for?" Necrosis said. "Don't let the situation fool you. We are not friends."

"Just because we're not friends doesn't mean we can't show empathy." Julius said.

"I don't need your pity." Necrosis snapped back.

"We're just trying to help." Eli cut in.

"Help?" Necrosis stood against the cave wall. "WE. FAILED. Each and every one of us. We had no idea what we were doing and now look at us."

"We're only students." Julius argued.

"Well the world obviously doesn't care. We were living it up in the academies. We'll look where that got me. I lost everything today." He punched the wall.

"Necros…" Emp said. "Where are Rib and Polis?" He gave her a disgusted look. "Oh gods." She put her hand over her mouth.

"It's just me now." Necrosis said. "And Crimson but he's not one for conversation." He said.

"I know you must be hurting but…" Julius started.

"I lost everything!" Necrosis shouted. "No home, no family, Veronica was everything. She was the one I lived for. She was the whole reason I wanted to be a huntsman. She was the only reason I'm here. And I failed her. Compared to those who came before us we're jokes. We're nothing."

"Don't say things like that." I said. Fear was taking hold. He started fiddling with his pistol.

"Why are we even here?" He whispered. "It's all pointless now." He put the pistol to his head.

"NO!" I shouted. I don't think I've ever ran that fast before. In the time it took his finger to twitch I slapped the gun out of his hand. Ambrose was right behind me. He grabbed Necrosis by the collar and slammed him into the wall, lifting him off the ground.

"Damn it Necros, we've lost more than enough people today!" He said.

"Then why am I the only one who lost everything? Huh?"

"You're not!" I said. I waved around the room. "Look around you. Dozens of families are torn apart. Countless orphans and widows line the cavern. I lost my father, the only family I had. But you...damn it you can't give up hope!"

"She's right." Crimson said. "Veronica wouldn't want you to join her so soon." Necrosis sat against the wall.

"Leave me." He said. "He pointed to Eli. "Worry about Mantis." He pointed at Crimson. "You can stay." He said.

"Of course." Crimson said. I turned away and walked back to Julius. I only turned back once.

"Frère Jacques." Necros had created a doll out of dust that took Veronica's form. It was singing to him. "Frère Jacques, Dormez-vous? Dormez-vous? Sonnez les matines! Sonnez les matines! Ding, dang, dong. Ding, dang, dong."

"How're you holding up?" Julius said.

"Terribly." I admitted. "Let's go." We started walking down the cavern.

"Look, I still don't know what's going on." He said. "I hope one day you will. I know this might be a bad time but...we almost died tonight. And a lot of people weren't so lucky." He grabbed my hand and faced me. "I can't imagine what you're feeling. But I swear...as long as I live...you will never be alone again."

"What are you…" I was cut off when he grabbed my face and pulled me into a kiss. I protested at first but after a second I melted into it. After a minute we pulled apart and he rested his forehead against mine as our fingers laced together.

"I've been wanting to do that for a while now." He said. I gave him a soft smile.

"If I tell you a secret, will you keep it? Will you believe it? Will you share it with me?"

"Of course." He said.

"I think I'm in love with you." I most certainly was.

 **AN: Alright enough of the depressing crap. This was the origin of Necros Faust as we would see him in the STRQ era. Though, he still has a way's before he's that depraved. The quote towards the end should be familiar to anyone who has seen Violet's profile on the RWBY OC Facebook page. Next time is the epilogue. Please review and stay classy.**


	25. Chapter 25

Violet Rose

 **AN: This is probably going to be a short chapter. This is just the epilogue. It's also going to use present tense (which I never use) since what's happening here is happening now...at least for the narrator Violet.**

Chapter 25: Season of the Rose

"I'm afraid there's not much else to say." I hold by beautiful baby girl. "I wasn't there for the final tragedy. As survivors were being ferried to Vale, a tunnel collapsed and unleashed more Grimm."

I hope I'm not scaring you. You're too small and too precious to worry about these sorts of things. We learned our lesson. Though Mantle still thinks we don't have proper defenses, we do our best.

"I didn't have many pressing or interesting adventures after that. I got married to your father right out of Beacon. We waited a while before having you. But now that we have you, I can't imagine life without you."

"How much do you plan on telling her when she's older?" Julius says.

"Less than I did. I'll definitely tell her about the Argentware before she goes to Beacon."

"If she wants to go to Beacon." He says casually.

"True, but the blood of heroes runs through her veins. If bravery is genetic then she's got it in spades."

"Kindness too." Julius puts a hand on my shoulder and kisses our baby on the forehead.

"I think one lesson I want her to know...is that no matter how bad things get, she'll never be alone."

* * *

"Mommy." My five-year-old says as I brush her hair.

"Yes my dear." I say.

"Who do I look like more? You, or Daddy?"

"Well you have my eyes cupcake. But just about everything else you got from your father. His thick red hair, his nose, his smile."

"Heee." She smiles at me just like Julius.

"All done." I say. I tie her hood around her neck. "Now you look like a proper hero."

"Yay. Just like you and Daddy?"

"That's right."

* * *

"What're you thinking." Julius asks me.

"Just thinking how much time has passed." I say. "I feel like we're living our life so fast."

"Well then we'll slow down." He kisses my head. "Our kid has bloomed from a baby into a flower. We've still got fifty good years left to spend."

"Still...I hate leaving her alone when we're away on missions."

"Leaving her with Granny Glens is hardly alone."

"I'll never forgive myself that we weren't here to see her make cookies for the first time."

"It's the price we pay." Julius starts massaging my shoulders and gingerly kisses my neck. Our eyes are trained on the eight-year-old running through the yard.

"I know better than anyone what that means. And I'm worried about when she has to learn that too."

"She's not like you." He laughs into that sweet spot where the neck meets the shoulder. "She's not the kind of person who lets responsibilities get in the way of fun."

* * *

"So where are you going?" My twelve-year-old asks.

"Well, we're heading to Vacuo first." Julius says. "Our pray is a slippery one." He starts tickling her.

"You mind Granny Glens while we're gone." I say. I look through some of my old letterboxes. Maybe there's something in here that can give us an edge on this mission.

"I know mom." She says in a way that earns a slanted glance from her father.

"So when is he getting here anyway?" Aunt Gardenia says. Though, I've taken to calling her Granny like everyone else. Ever since she broke her hip on a mission, she's retired and basically took over the island.

"Whenever he pleases." Julius huffs. I smile as I find a letter I wrote to my baby. Before I could read it our companion showed up.

"Speak of the devil." Granny Glens says.

"Hello." My treasure pips up. It was odd looking at him. I'll never get used to the fact Mr. Branwen had a son who was a bit older than me. had passed in his sleep some time ago. Now his son took over his workload.

"So…" He pushes his glasses up his nose. "Shall we begin?" I nod and give my darling joy one more kiss before I leave.

Bye mom." She says.

"Here." I pass her the note. "I love you."

"I love you too mom." She begins reading it. But I already knows what it says.

To my darling angel,

A Rose for perfect Season

A soul as pure as snow

I love you beyond all reason

I can't wait to watch you grow

You are my pride and joy

You are the one I must hold

Don't be chased by some dumb boy

Don't worry about growing old

I'll dance with you as you twirl

I'll kiss you from head to toes

My darling baby girl

My precious Summer Rose.

 **AN:That's it for this story. I might, at a much later time, do a sequel detailing this mission and whatever else I may think for this character. But I wanted a happy ending So, tomorrow in this story I have something very special for you. I'll give you** **a hint. "Well,** **you lot got yourselves in** **quite** **the mess."**


	26. Chapter 26

Remnant's Most Wanted

 **AN: It's another one of these. I liked making the trailer for RWBYond War and I thought I'd do the same for this coming story. So, it'll be paced like the trailer for RWBYond War that I had at the end of Happily Ever After.**

Chapter 0: What am I Going to Do with You

The sound of alcohol being sipped from a flask.

"Well, you lot got yourselves in quite the mess." Qrow says.

"What can you tell me about them?" A female voice says.

"Citrine Rose…" A silver eyed girl with dark blonde hair raises a bone-white shield. Her orange cape blows in the wind as she smashes into a beowolf in a desolate cityscape. It's Mountain Glenn. "Daughter of Ruby and Jaune Arc."

"Does it make you feel old, being responsible for your great-niece?" The woman says.

"Like you wouldn't believe. She's got heart, her mother's impulsiveness and her dad's sense of humor."

Citrine throws her shield through a beowolf's head. She sprints, leaving orange petals in her wake as she spins around, killing more of them.

"And the Schnee?" The woman says.

"Eisenhertz…everyone just calls her Eiess. Daughter of Weiss Schnee and niece to headmistress Winter Schnee. I would have loved to see Winter's face when her own flesh and blood picked my school over hers."

Eiess, who looks like her mother but with tanned skin wields a cutlass as she swings at a griffon. She throws up some glyphs and bounces around them until she cleaves the Grimm's wing off.

"Why would she come to Vale? Surely she had it made back in Mantle."

"Well, if her profile is anything to go off, this is where all her friends are."

"Fitting that their daughters would be partnered up just like they were." August says.

"Then we have Topaz Azul." Qrow says. "Just another girl with high class huntsmen parents."

"For better or worse." August adds.

Topaz slices into a hydra's face. Her blue hair is tied up in a bun as she spins in the air. With a downward strike, she cuts one of the Grimm's head off.

"Then there's Nova Wukong." A girl with long black hair back a black vest is standing on a rooftop. "Rap sheet as long as my arm. Petty theft, assault, vandalism, trespassing."

"They were bad guys." Nova crosses her arms in the back of a car.

"I did her parents a favor in letting her in a year early. They were hoping Citrine and Eiess would be good role models for her."

Nova wields twin swords. One of them fires a grappling hook that wraps around a guy's throat and yanks him off a catwalk. She runs up on a pair of guys and kicks one in the face. She twirls her swords around to knock the other one out.

"I see." The woman says.

"Next we got Nephrite Ren." A girl who looks like a gender-bent Lie Ren meditates by a waterfall. "I've seen her grow up right in the halls of my school. That's what happens when two of your best teachers decide to raise their kids on campus. I'm surprised she didn't leave for another school just to get away a bit."

"So, it seems." The woman says. "And the last one?"

"Johnny Clay." A blonde boy with starry blue eyes stands at the edge of the lineup. "Don't know much except that he was the top ranked student in Torch Academy before coming here." Johnny pulses his flashlight, blasting a small group of Grimm. Qrow takes another drink. "If you want more, their bios are in the directory. Which, I got to ask, why are the Arbiters interested?"

"A woman with dark hair and a purple outfit, wearing the mask of Kraken stands next to August, wearing the mask of Griffon.

"Because what they found tonight may be the biggest threat to Remnant since the war." The woman said.

Cue: Ready Steady Go.

Silhouettes of various Rose family members appear around Citrine as she stands on Cliffside alter. The same happens to Eiess, just with Schnee members as she stands in a library. Other members of the group, including a blonde girl with a green and blue eye and a boy with curly red hair, appear. An abstract image of a silver rose appears behind Citrine as she breaks the solemn tone with a goofy smile.

Citrine runs with three of her siblings around Patch. Nova jumps from rooftop to rooftop in a city. Nephrite and her family run through Emerald Forest. Topaz jets around on the open water. Johnny sits in a library and clenches his fist to his face. Citrine, Nephrite and Topaz pile up on Eiess.

Yang flaunts her muscles and flexes for the kids. Blake drops in and fires her gun before jumping away. Weiss dances around with her glyphs. Ruby smiles as she demonstrates her maiden powers.

A dark-skinned boy with red eyes and silver hair bounces around the trees around Nova. A sadistic grin in on his face. Johnny fires his flash light. Two others are at his side.

In Forever Fall, Cloak, Dagger and Levi look towards Vale. Mercury and Emerald stand back to back ready to fight.

Eiess sits in the rain as Citrine stands over her with her hand out. The sky begins to clear.

Johnny and Nova look through a bunch of old books. Cloak stands silhouetted with the moon. Qrow turns with the light glinting off his eyepiece. Nova takes a swing at Ruby and Ruby casually dodges it. The members of the new generation all pose for a picture at the statue in Beacon's courtyard.

 **RWBYond Generations Volume 1: Remnant's most wanted.** **Coming 2017.**

 **AN: Unlike the RWBYond War trailer, this is a bit more abstract. Other than the opening bit, don't expect a lot of this stuff to happen in the story. I hope you enjoyed this little tease at the next major installment of my series.**


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